Corn Falls for Second Day After U.S. Delays Ethanol Decision

Bloomberg.com
By Sungwoo Park

Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Corn fell for a second day after U.S. regulators postponed a decision to raise ethanol usage in gasoline until mid-2010, prolonging uncertainty about demand prospects for the grain used to make the fuel additive.

The Environmental Protection Agency kept the blend at a maximum of 10 percent yesterday and said it may consider an increase after engine studies are completed. Ethanol producers had sought a rate of 15 percent.

“The delay is disappointing, which has pressured corn,” said Han Sung Min, a manager at the international marketing division of Korea Exchange Bank Futures Co. in Seoul. “Still, the longer-term prospect for the grain is bullish since the U.S. will eventually expand ethanol use.”

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