Corn futures advance to eight-week high as dollar rises

Corn futures rose nearly one percent in American trade to the highest since December 4, even as the dollar index rose for the second straight session away from December 2014 lows, following earlier data from the US, the world's largest corn producer and exporter. 

As of 08:43 GMT, corn futures due on March 15 rose 0.63% to $3.5875 from the opening of $3.5650, while the dollar index advanced 0.31% to 89.34 from the opening of 89.07. 

Earlier US data showed personal spending rose 0.4% m/m in December, missing expectations of 0.5%, while down from November's 0.8% rise, revised from 0.6%. 

Core personal spending accelerated to 0.2% in line with expectations from 0.1% in November, while on a yearly basis, spending steadied at 1.5% as expected. 

US personal income rose 0.4% in December, beating forecasts of 0.3%, and above November's 0.3% increase.

The US government expects global corn inventories to fall 9.7% during the harvest season in North America this year, the first such yearly decline since 2011, adding to the dry weather in Argentine and heavy rains in Brazil which threaten crops and cut supply prospects, in turn buoying prices. 

The dollar index plumbed three-year lows last week after US Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said in Davos that dollar's drop would prop up US trade and exports, before US president Donald Trump countered it by supporting a stronger dollar. 

The US Department of Agriculture released its report on global agricultural demand and supply in January, where it cut corn productivity per donam in the US to 176.6 bushels, while cutting forecasts for overall cultivated acreage to 400 thousand acres.

Now the USDA projects total corn output in the current agricultural year at 14.60 billion bushels, down from 14.58 billion in previous forecasts, even though productivity rose by 2.0 bushels per donam as the overall cultivated area fell by 5% in 2017.  

Otherwise, US President Donald Trump spoke recently about the agriculture law and the NAFTA trade deal and other issues  that pertain to grain production during a speech today, expressing his support for a law to includes insuring harvests and pointing to the recent Republican-passed tax reform law as a great source of tax cuts for farmers.