Corn Market Update: Prices Dip While Exports Surge
Weekly Snapshot Shows Cash Prices Decrease, Yet Speculators Shift Positions
The corn market experienced a decline on Friday, with prices dropping by 3 to 4 cents. Despite this drop, March futures ended the week still higher, up 2 ¼ cents. The national average cash corn price from cmdtyView fell by 3 1/4 cents to settle at $4.51 1/4.
According to the latest Commitment of Traders data from CFTC, managed money spec funds have increased their net long position in corn futures and options. As of January 21, these funds added 19,450 contracts, bringing their total to 311,678 contracts.
In terms of exports for the 2024/25 corn season, sales totaled 1.66 million metric tons (MMT) during the week ending January 16. This figure was on the higher end of estimates, which ranged from 0.7 to 1.7 MMT. Notably, this was the strongest weekly performance in four weeks and represented a 62.2% increase from the previous week. South Korea emerged as the largest buyer, purchasing 462,100 MT, while Taiwan bought 277,500 MT. For the 2025/26 corn bookings, a total of 9,243 MT was recorded, falling within the expected range of 0 to 50,000 MT, with sales split between Mexico and Japan.
In a relevant development, Argentina announced a reduction in its corn export tax, lowering it from 12% to 9.5%, effective January 26.
Mar 25 Corn closed at $4.86 1/2, down 3 1/4 cents.
Nearby Cash stood at $4.51 1/4, also down 3 1/4 cents.
May 25 Corn finished at $4.96 1/2, down 2 3/4 cents.
Dec 25 Corn closed at $4.61, a decrease of 3 1/4 cents.
New Crop Cash was recorded at $4.32 5/8, down 3 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 and data provided in this article are for informational purposes only. 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.
