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The worst flooding in the U.S. Midwest for 15 years sent fresh shocks to global markets and consumers on Monday as corn prices hit record highs on fears of crop losses in the heart of the world's top grain exporter.

Corn prices at the Chicago Board of Trade soared above $8 a bushel for the first time as relentless rains and overflowing rivers raised fears that Midwest farmers will not be able to grow much of anything on as many as 5 million acres (2 million hectares).

"The market is being driven by water," said Glenn Hollander, a veteran grain merchant on the CBOT trading floor. "

Estimates show 3 million acres of corn under water and probably 2 million didn't get planted. So that gets you up to 5 million or over 700 million bushels, and that takes out the entire carry-out," he said, referring to estimates for grain stocks carried over to the next crop year.

Overwhelmed river levees across Iowa and Illinois, which produce about a third of U.S. corn and soybeans, have displaced thousands of people.

The White House said U.S. President George W. Bush would visit the stricken region on Thursday. Mostly dry weather was forecast through Wednesday in Iowa, and waters were receding. But those flows were increasing water levels well past flood stage in the Mississippi River, the most important U.S. waterway. A dozen river locks there were already shut down due to the high water, crippling commerce.