Corn rose to a 30-month high for a second day on signs that global demand is increasing for supplies from the U.S., the world’s largest grower and exporter. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported export sales in the week ended Feb. 3 were 51 percent above the average during the prior four weeks. The USDA said yesterday that U.S. inventories before the harvest will be equal to about 18 days of consumption, on par with the record low in 1996. Prices have jumped 87 percent in the past year. “Export sales were very good last week,” said Brian Grete, the senior market analyst for Professional Farmers of America newsletter in Cedar Falls, Iowa. “Yesterday, the USDA told the market that prices need to go higher to slow demand.” Corn futures for March delivery rose 0.5 cent, or 0.1 percent, to close at $6.985 a bushel at 1:15 p.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade, after touching $7.045, the highest for the most- active futures since July 2008. “The market is bidding up the prices now to encourage farmers to plant more,” Grete said. Corn is the biggest U.S. crop, valued at $48.6 billion in 2009, followed by soybeans at $31.8 billion, government data show. To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Wilson in Chicago at jwilson29@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net.

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