Commodities Wrap: Corn prices surge

Food makers, already pressured by commodity costs, were hit this week with more bad news _ corn prices surged to yet another record high.

After settling for a new record price of $6.4325 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade Thursday, corn for July delivery jumped to an all-time high of $6.6325 a bushel Friday before settling slightly lower at $6.52.

The price hike was mainly due to heavy rains that have flooded corn crops in Indiana, Ohio, Nebraska and other states which has delayed planting. That weather is now scheduled to move west toward more corn belt states over the next five days.

Food makers like Kraft Foods Inc. and Kellogg Co. have struggled to pay higher prices for corn in the past year, due mainly to demand for the alternative fuel ethanol, which is also made with the grain. Meat producers have also seen profits take a hit because of higher corn prices since they need the grain to make animal feed.

For Tyson Foods Inc., one of the world's largest meat producers, the higher corn prices weren't the only piece of bad news during the week.

The company said earlier in the week that 15,000 hens at one of its farms in northwest Arkansas tested positive for a strain of bird flu. The chickens were killed and buried but the news helped send shares down for the week.

Tyson shares dropped 15 percent this week to close at $16.17 Friday.