Corn prices continued their upward trend on Thursday morning, rising by 1 to 2 cents following a slight recovery on Wednesday, where futures increased by 1 to 2.25 cents at the close. The CmdtyView national average cash corn price rose by 2.5 cents to $3.85. Meanwhile, open interest increased by 27,407 contracts on Wednesday, signaling stronger market activity.
According to the EIA, ethanol production surged by 98,000 barrels per day week-over-week, reaching a record 1.196 million barrels per day, which is 5.75% higher than the previous record. Ethanol stocks also built by 821,000 barrels to 24.473 million barrels. Additionally, exports increased by 6,000 barrels per day, bringing the total to 119,000 barrels per day.
Looking ahead, the USDA is expected to release export sales data on Thursday, with estimates ranging from 0.6 to 1.4 million metric tons of corn sold for the week ending January 8. In related news, Brazil’s CONAB projected its 2025/26 corn production at 138.87 million metric tons, while Argentina’s Rosario Grains Exchange revised its estimate for the corn crop to 62 million metric tons, a 1 million metric ton increase.
