Corn Market Struggles as Prices Retreat from Early Gains

The corn market is experiencing a downturn at midday on Tuesday, with prices showing fractional to 2-cent losses. The nearby CmdtyView national average Cash Corn price has decreased by ¾ cent, now standing at $4.23 3/4.

Current Crop Progress

According to the Crop Progress report released Monday afternoon, the U.S. corn crop is currently 40% planted as of May 4, which is one percentage point ahead of the five-year average. However, some eastern states are falling behind. Illinois and Kentucky are lagging by 12 percentage points compared to normal, while Tennessee is down by 1%. Other states, including Iowa (-4%), Missouri (-3%), North Carolina (-9%), and Wisconsin (-5%), also trail the average planting pace. Corn emergence is at 11%, slightly ahead of the five-year average of 9%.

Export Data Highlights

This morning, March export data from the Census Bureau revealed that corn exports totaled 7.34 million metric tons (MMT) or 289 million bushels. This figures reflects a significant 21.7% increase from February and is 24.54% above last year’s total. The marketing year total now stands at 38.01 MMT (1.496 billion bushels). Exports of dried distillers grains (DDGs) were recorded at 1.027 MMT, slightly down from last year. Furthermore, ethanol shipments reached their highest level in seven years at 195.8 million gallons.

International Purchases

Additionally, a couple of South Korean importers reported buying a total of 332,000 MT of corn through private tenders overnight.

Current Corn Prices

May 25 Corn is priced at $4.45 1/2, down 1 cent.

Nearby Cash is currently at $4.23 3/4, down ¾ cent.

Jul 25 Corn stands at $4.53 1/4, also down 1 cent.

Dec 25 Corn is at $4.41 1/4, down 1 3/4 cents.

New Crop Cash is at $4.00 1/2, down 2 1/4 cents.

On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not hold any positions, directly or indirectly, in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information provided is solely for informational purposes. For more information, please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.

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