Corn Market Experiences Minor Gains Amid Mixed Trading Conditions

Corn is experiencing slight gains of 1 to 3 cents early Monday, supported by positive sentiment from the wheat market. On Friday, the market faced downward pressure, with contracts falling by 2 to 4 cents. Preliminary open interest on Friday increased by 5,080 contracts. For the week, July corn fell by 15 ½ cents, and December declined by 12 ¼ cents. The CmdtyView national average Cash Corn price decreased by 1 ½ cents to $4.20 ¾.

Export Sales Data Highlights

Export Sales data released on Friday reported 916,712 MT for the 2024/25 period during the week of May 22. Although this marks a 7-week low, it is still 13.2% higher than last year’s figures. Japan was the primary buyer with 214,400 MT, followed by Mexico with 201,500 MT, and Colombia with 157,900 MT. New crop sales registered at 31,000 MT.

Commitment of Traders Report Indicates Shifts

The Commitment of Traders report from the CFTC revealed a decrease in the managed money net short position in corn futures and options by 2,450 contracts to 100,760 as of May 27. Furthermore, the commercial net short position was reduced by 22,231 contracts to 150,061 as of Tuesday.

Brazil’s Corn Crop Estimates Updated

Safras & Mercado raised Brazil’s corn crop estimate by 3.89 MMT to 139.03 MMT, driven by a 3.82 MMT increase in their second crop projection. The USDA’s estimate stands at 130 MMT. AgRural also updated its corn projection this morning, increasing it by 3.7 MMT to 128.5 MMT and reported 1.3% of the second crop corn is planted in the center-south region.

Recent Market Closing Prices

As for current prices, July corn closed at $4.44, down 3 cents but later increased by 2 ¾ cents. Nearby cash prices were $4.20 ¾, down 1 ½ cents. September corn closed at $4.23 ¼, down 4 cents but is currently rising by 1 ½ cents. December corn ended at $4.38 ½, down 2 ¾ cents, and is now up by 1 ¾ cents. New crop cash prices were $3.95 ⅞, down 4 ½ cents.

On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not have any 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 view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.