Corn Market Shows Modest Gains Amid USDA Reports
The corn market is seeing small increases this Thursday morning. Late buying pushed corn futures up from session lows, with nearby contracts stable to 1 ¼ cents lower while new crop contracts experienced modest gains. The national average cash corn price from cmdtyView decreased by 1 1/4 cents, landing at $4.58 1/4.
USDA Export Sales Report Predictions
Ahead of Thursday morning’s USDA Export Sales report, trade estimates suggest that corn sales for the week ending on January 30 will range from 0.85 to 1.5 million metric tons (MMT) for the 2024/25 season, with expectations of 0-100,000 MT for 2025/26.
Ethanol Production Figures Rise
According to EIA data, ethanol production increased significantly in the week of January 31, climbing by 97,000 barrels per day to a total of 1.112 million bpd. Ethanol stocks also grew, rising by 690,000 barrels to reach 26.412 million barrels. Although refiner inputs of ethanol rose to 860,000 barrels per day—an increase of 28,000 bpd—exports fell by 73,000 bpd to 106,000 bpd.
Record Corn Exports in December
Data from the Census Bureau revealed that December corn exports from the United States reached 5.445 MMT (214.36 million bushels), marking the highest figure for that month since 1989 and the 4th largest total ever recorded for December. This figure reflects a 15.74% increase from the previous month. Additionally, December saw a record in distillers at 1.064 MMT, with ethanol exports also setting a new monthly record at 194.4 million gallons.
International Tender Activity
A South Korean importer has issued a tender seeking to buy 140,000 MT of corn, with offers due on Thursday. Algeria is also looking to purchase 240,000 MT of corn through a tender announced for the same day. Meanwhile, ANEC forecasts that Brazil’s corn exports will total 1.03 MMT during February.
Current Corn Market Prices
For markets closing on March 25, corn closed at $4.93 1/4, down 1 1/4 cents but is currently up 1/2 cent. Nearby cash corn was priced at $4.58 1/4, down 1 1/4 cents.
May 25 corn closed at $5.04 3/4, unchanged, and is currently up 1/4 cent. December 25 corn finished at $4.68 1/2, up 1/2 cent, and is currently unchanged. New crop cash corn stands at $4.37 3/8, down 3/4 cent.
On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not hold positions, either directly or indirectly, in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article are for informational purposes only. For more information, please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy
here.
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