Corn Futures Experience Modest Gains as Export Sales Awaited

Corn futures finished the Wednesday session mostly unchanged, with a slight rise of up to 3 cents. The national average cash corn price, according to cmdtyView, increased by 3 cents to reach $3.86 per bushel. So far in October, December corn futures have averaged $4.17, which is 49 cents below the February base insurance price.

In a notable development, the USDA reported a private export sale of 100,000 metric tons of corn to unknown destinations this morning, set for shipment during the 2024/25 period. The export sales figures will be unveiled on Thursday morning. A Reuters survey anticipates that traders expect between 2.2 and 3.3 million metric tons of corn to be sold for 2024/25, along with 500,000 to 850,000 metric tons sold for 2025/26, for the week that ended on October 17.

In related news, the weekly EIA Petroleum Status report revealed that ethanol production rose to 1.081 million barrels per day for the week of October 23, an increase of 39,000 barrels from the previous week. Ethanol stocks diminished by 52,000 barrels, now totaling 22.223 million barrels. Additionally, refiner inputs of ethanol were 915,000 barrels per day, showing a 3,000 barrel increase. Gasoline supplied during that week was recorded at 8.838 million barrels per day, reflecting a rise from the prior week.

As for specific corn futures, the following prices were noted:

• Dec 24 Corn closed at $4.19, up 2.5 cents.
• Nearby Cash was $3.86, up 3 cents.
• Mar 25 Corn closed at $4.32, up 2.75 cents.
• May 25 Corn closed at $4.39¾, up 3 cents.

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 provided solely for informational purposes. For more details, please refer to the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.

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