Corn Market Declines Amidst Planting Progress and Production Projections

The corn market experienced a downturn on Tuesday, with contracts dropping by 4 to 6 cents for nearby deliveries. The CmdtyView national average Cash Corn price fell by 4 3/4 cents, settling at $4.14 3/4.

Current Crop Progress and Planting Rates

Recent Crop Progress data, released Monday afternoon, indicated that 62% of the US corn crop was planted as of May 11. This represents a 6 percentage point advantage over the 5-year average pace. However, several key states, including Illinois (-6), Kentucky (-9), Missouri (-3), North Carolina (-6), and Ohio (-2), are lagging behind their average planting rates. Emergence is reported at 28%, also ahead of the 5-year average of 21%.

Shifts in Production Projections

After the USDA raised Brazil’s corn production forecast to 130 million metric tons (MMT) on Monday, Dr. Michael Cordonnier provided a more conservative estimate, increasing his projection by 1 MMT to 127. This larger expected crop could impact U.S. exports in the fourth quarter, leading the market to possibly retract some premium pricing.

Closing Prices

May 25 Corn closed at $4.36, a decrease of 4 1/4 cents.

Nearby Cash was reported at $4.14 3/4, down 4 3/4 cents.

Jul 25 Corn ended at $4.42 1/2, a drop of 5 1/2 cents.

Dec 25 Corn closed at $4.41, down 4 1/2 cents.

New Crop Cash was at $3.98 1/2, a decrease of 4 3/4 cents.

On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information, please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy.

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