Corn Prices Edge Higher as Export Sales Surge
Strong Demand and Shipment Data Boost Market Confidence
Futures are showing modest gains of 1 to 2 cents early Friday morning. The corn market ended Thursday with increases of 3 ¾ to 5 cents, driven by better-than-expected Export Sales data. The national average Cash Corn price from cmdtyView rose by 5 cents to $4.07 1/2.
The Export Sales report released Thursday morning revealed corn sales of 1.732 MMT, marking a four-week high and surpassing expectations of 0.75 to 1.5 MMT for the week of November 28. This total was also 63% higher than last week and 34.4% larger than the same week last year. Mexico emerged as the top buyer with 392,400 MT, followed by Japan with 357,700 MT. Additionally, 22,098 MT was sold for the 2025/26 year, entirely to Mexico, with estimates ranging from 0 to 200,000 MT.
In addition, October export figures were published yesterday, showing that 4.05 MMT (or 159.4 million bushels) of corn was shipped, the highest October total since 2018, although this represented a 5.39% decline from September. Distillers’ exports reached a record for the month at 1.114 MMT, which was up 10.1% from the previous month. Ethanol shipments totaled 143.45 million gallons, marking the second-largest volume ever for October, but down 3.38% from last month.
Meanwhile, Brazil’s corn exports for November stood at 4.726 MMT, according to government sources. This figure was significantly lower than October and down 36.2% from the previous year.
Looking at specific futures contracts: Dec 24 Corn closed at $4.26 1/2, up 4 1/2 cents, and is currently up 1 cent. Nearby Cash Corn was priced at $4.07 1/2, reflecting a rise of 5 cents. Mar 25 Corn closed at $4.35, gaining 5 cents, with a current increase of 1 1/4 cents. May 25 Corn also closed at $4.40 1/2, up 5 cents and currently up 1 1/4 cents.
On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not hold (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article are solely for informational purposes. For more information, please see the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
