Corn increased on Wednesday amid speculations that investors will boost holdings of commodities to overcome inflation following the gain of crude oil and other commodities.

Crude oil increased by 5.5 percent to $104.95 a barrel after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) gave no indication of increasing oil output.

Corn futures for May delivery increased by 2.3 percent, or 12.5 cents, to $5.67 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade.

Corn increased by 33 percent last year boosted by high demand for grain-based ethanol and livestock feed.

Crude-oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange have increased by 9 percent since the start of this year.

Gasoline in New York increased by 4.7 percent to $2.6475 a gallon.

According to the Energy Department, the U.S. ethanol production increased to 489,000 barrels a day in December and inventories dropped by 6.1 percent to 10.5 million barrels.

Corn prices were also boosted by concerns that U.S. farmers will plant more profitable crops, reducing this year's supply of grain for feeding livestock and producing ethanol.

Corn plantings for this year were forecasted to fall by 9.5 percent to 84.7 million acres.

Crude oil OPEC