USDA Raises Monthly Corn Forecast

The monthly forecast by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday reported corn production for the year could be a much higher 12.2 billion bushels, a significant increase over September's projection of 12.1 billion bushels.

While wetter weather has a strong impact on production, the resultant success will probably put more downward pressure on corn prices, as the agency revised its season-average per bushel to a range of $4.20 to $5.20. That's a drop of 80 cent from September's estimate.

At the end of Thursday's session on the Chicago Board of Trade, corn for December delivery ended at around $4.38 a bushel.