Corn futures experienced losses on Thursday, with contracts declining by 1 ½ to 3 ¼ cents. The CmdtyView national average cash corn price fell by 3 cents to $4.05 1/2. In contrast, crude oil rose by $4.06.
South Korean importers purchased 136,000 metric tons (MT) of corn, indicated to be of US origin, following earlier purchases. The USDA reported private export sales of the same quantity to South Korea. Furthermore, export sales data revealed 1.36 million MT of old crop corn sales for the week of April 2, an increase of 18.4% from the prior week and 73.3% compared to the same week last year. Japan was the top buyer, importing 632,400 MT, followed by Mexico with 202,500 MT.
The USDA’s WASDE update maintained US corn ending stocks projections at 2.127 billion bushels, aligning with trade expectations. Global ending stocks were raised by 2.06 million MT to 294.81 million MT, mainly due to increases in India, South Africa, and Brazil.
