December Corn finished down 30 at 513, 29 1/4 off the high and equal to the low. March Corn closed down 30 at 531. This was equal to the low and 29 off the high.

Corn opened sharply lower after a sharply lower overnight session. Selling by locals and funds hit the market after the open and corn remained under pressure throughout the day before closing at limit down in a number of contracts. Funds were sellers of 5000 contracts on the day. Traders said that sharply lower crude oil was a negative factor all day along with the higher dollar with the final pressure coming from the House of Representative's vote against the bailout package late in the session. Overall, selling is said to have stemmed from the crisis mentality in the US and world economies as well as from the onset of the US harvest. Harvest has been delayed in recent weeks after the late planting this year. That has kept prices and basis levels higher than might otherwise have been the case and this may have curtailed demand in late August and early September according to one analyst. With newly harvested corn now starting to hit the interior in substantial amounts and crude oil and stocks sharply lower, the market is getting hit with a triple whammy according to that analyst. The USDA will issue its Crop Progress Report this afternoon, and harvest is expected to remain nearly two weeks behind the normal pace despite the recent increase in the harvest rate. Updated weather forecasts do not call for any significant frost this week or next. The USDA will issue its Quarterly Stocks Report tomorrow before the open.