December Corn finished up 10 3/4 at 438 1/4, 4 1/4 off the high and 13 1/4 up from the low. March Corn closed up 11 3/4 at 455 3/4. This was 13 3/4 up from the low and 4 off the high.

Corn opened higher this morning after a strong performance in the overnight session. After early light selling pressure trimmed the opening gains, the market moved higher into early afternoon before easing slightly into the close. Corn gained sharply on wheat on the day in light trade in that spread. Traders said that today's strength in corn was mainly short covering ahead of tomorrow's USDA reports. Weather is expected to be mostly dry through Saturday in most harvest areas of the Midwest. This comes at time when export sales are moving higher as the world's buyers are responding to lower prices for US corn. Net export sales for corn jumped sharply to 957,900 tonnes on this week's Export Sales Report which was well above trade expectations. Sales of 761,000 tonnes are needed each week to reach the USDA forecast. Japan, Mexico and Guatemala were the largest buyers. The USDA will release its October Supply and Demand Reports tomorrow prior to the open and traders are expecting yield and production to be near unchanged, but they are expecting a drop in demand that will boost ending stocks for 2008/09 by well over 100 million bushels. Basis levels at the Gulf softened for corn this morning in the face of a higher futures market and a reduction in the record high barge freight levels seen in recent days.

November Rice finished down 0.435 at 16.865, 0.225 off the high and equal to the low.