Corn Prices Rise Amid Trade Negotiations and Export Reports

Corn futures saw an increase of 4 to 9 ¼ cents across most contracts on Thursday, attempting to recover from recent losses. CmdtyView’s national average Cash Corn price climbed by 8 3/4 cents, settling at $4.23 1/2.

Trade Developments Impacting Market

President Trump announced a temporary suspension of all tariffs under the USMCA trade agreement from Canada and Mexico, valid for an additional month. This follows Canada’s decision to delay planned tariffs on $125 billion of U.S. goods until April 2.

Export Sales Report Highlights Strong Corn Demand

This morning’s Export Sales report indicated U.S. corn bookings of 909,050 MT, landing near the upper range of estimates for the 2024/25 crop year during the week of February 27. This figure represented a 15.3% increase from the previous week, though it was down 18.1% from the same week in the prior year. Japan emerged as the leading buyer with 260,600 MT acquired, while Mexico secured 249,900 MT. However, the category for unknown destinations experienced a net reduction of 248,100 MT, which was redirected to known buyers—149,600 MT to Japan and 54,000 MT to Mexico. New crop sales registered at 52,000 MT, aligning with analysts’ predictions.

Record Corn Exports in January

In January, corn exports reached a record for the month at 6.162 MMT (242.6 mbu), marking a 13.17% increase from December and up 43.34% from January of the previous year. Conversely, distillers’ grain exports dropped by 10.07% year-over-year, totaling 811,480 MT. Ethanol exports also set a January record at 198.05 million gallons.

Current Corn Future Prices

Mar 25 Corn closed at $4.49 1/2, reflecting an increase of 9 1/4 cents.

Nearby Cash prices were reported at $4.23 1/2, which is up 8 3/4 cents.

May 25 Corn ended the day at $4.64, gaining 8 1/4 cents.

Dec 25 Corn closed at $4.51, rising 4 1/4 cents.

New Crop Cash prices reached $4.15 1/2, up 4 1/2 cents.

On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not hold (either directly or indirectly) positions in any securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article are for informational purposes only. For further details, please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy
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The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.