Corn Market Reaches New Highs Amid Ethanol Production Rebound

The corn market is experiencing fresh intraday highs, with contracts gaining between 6 to 8 cents. The current CmdtyView national average Cash Corn price has increased by 7 cents, now standing at $4.34 3/4.

Weekly Ethanol Production Update

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports a notable rebound in ethanol production, which rose by 43,000 barrels per day to reach 1.036 million bpd for the week ending May 16. Additionally, ethanol stocks decreased by 501,000 barrels to 24.944 million barrels, as stocks in the Midwest dropped by 809,000 barrels. Cutter inputs of ethanol also fell, decreasing by 10,000 bpd week-over-week, to a total of 919,000 bpd.

Expectations for Thursday’s Export Sales

Thursday’s Export Sales report is anticipated to show old crop sales ranging from 0.7 to 1.6 million metric tons (MMT) for the week ending May 15. For new crop sales, estimates project a total between 50,000 MT to 500,000 MT.

Impact of Argentina’s Export Tax Change

The Argentine government’s reduction of the corn export tax to 9.5% is set to expire at the end of June. Officials have confirmed that the rate will revert to 12% starting July 1.

Brazil’s Corn Crop Estimates

Private analysts at Agroconsult have estimated Brazil’s second corn crop at 112.9 MMT, significantly higher than the 99.8 MMT recorded in the recent CONAB report.

Current Corn Price Summary

Jul 25 Corn: $4.61 1/4, up 6 3/4 cents

Nearby Cash: $4.34 3/4, up 7 cents

Sep 25 Corn: $4.43, up 7 3/4 cents

Dec 25 Corn: $4.55 1/4, up 6 3/4 cents

New Crop Cash: $4.14 1/1, up 7 1/2 cents

As of the publication date, Austin Schroeder did not hold (directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. All information is for informational purposes only. For more details, please refer to the Barchart Disclosure Policy.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Nasdaq, Inc.