CHICAGO, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- Grain futures closed higher Friday on the Chicago Board of Trade with corn and soybeans up sharply.
Corn was up 17 1/4 to off 1 1/2, soybeans were up 18 3/4 to up 32 3/4, wheat was up 1 1/4 to up 20 and oats were up 13 1/2 to off 3.
Corn prices were up sharply to a near two-year high on heavy buying and short covering by commission houses. South Korea's largest feed maker purchased 165,000 tons of U.S. corn for late January early February delivery, and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said he expects use of corn for ethanol to increase.
Wheat was boosted by world weather problems, including a frost in the Canadian province of Alberta and lack of rain in Australia. Soybeans also showed big gains on weather worries in Canada, northern Brazil and northeast China.
UPI
