Corn climbs on U.S. weather worries; soybeans retreat

CHICAGO - U.S. corn rose about 1.7 percent Monday as commodity funds extended net long positions on forecasts for potentially stressful hot weather in the Midwest and the Mississippi River Delta, traders said. Soybeans and wheat turned lower, retreating from early advances amid technical selling. Expectations that USDA will raise its plantings estimate on June 30 pushed soybean prices lower while mounting global supplies along with the start of the U.S. wheat harvest hurt that crop's prices. At the Chicago Board of Trade as of 12:50 p.m. CDT (1750 GMT), corn for July delivery was up 7 cents at $4.30 per bushel. July soybeans were down 3-1/4 cents at $11.75 a bushel and July wheat was down 2-1/2 cents at $4.92-1/2 a bushel. Corn was on track to post its biggest daily climb in a week as traders focused on hot weather, especially in the Delta, where corn is starting to pollinate, a key growth phase for determining yield.