Corn doing better than oil after Hurricane Ike

15 September 2008 22:40  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--Corn futures slipped less than crude oil during Monday’s financial slowdown as traders waited to see if Hurricane Ike caused significant damage to farmland, an analyst said.

 

Oil and corn, along with other commodities, have been closely linked over the past few months since peaking together in July.

 

As crude oil dipped as low as $94/bbl, corn futures for September delivery capped a volatile session of trading by closing at $5.60/bushel (€3.92/bushel), down just three cents on a day when the rest of the financial world appeared to be in a pitfall.

 

Barrels of West Texas Intermediate for October delivery, by contrast, settled at $95.71, a loss of $5.47 on the day.

 

“I think the market’s trying to signal that we need to buy more acres next year, or we’re going to have some troubles,” said Don Roose of Des Moines, Iowa-based US Commodities.

 

Roose said many traders were concerned about potential scarcities as the remnants of Hurricane Ike battered the US cornbelt.

 

($1 = €0.70)

 

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By: David Rosen
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