December corn opened 17 1/2 cents lower on the day at 524 1/2 and established an early range of 513 3/4 to 526 1/2. The sharply lower open in corn met with selling from all sectors of the market according to floor traders. They indicate that the dollar is the main market factor in virtually all US commodity markets this morning. The higher dollar is generating liquidation in futures markets and a near term lessening of export interest despite the lower prices. US weather is an additional negative influence according to traders as all expectations of heat-related stress to the corn crop this summer have now been eliminated. The USDA announced a sale of 120,000 tonnes of corn to Egypt this morning. Basis levels at the Gulf were mostly steady this morning with some traders anticipating another burst of export demand since the percentage decline in corn futures in the early going has been greater than the percentage rally in the dollar. This makes US corn cheaper on world markets today in comparison to yesterday.