Corn Futures Struggle in Early Trading
As the sun rose on Tuesday, corn prices were down by a penny to 1 ¾ cents in the front months of futures trading. The entirety of May’s 2 ¼ cent overnight range was dipped in hues of red. Front month corn futures showed a slight weakening at Monday’s close, with the lead month May contract shedding 1 ½ cents by the final bell. Speculators added positions before Thursday’s quarterly reports, leading to a rise of 7,893 contracts in preliminary open interest on Monday. Localized cash grain movement was also observed, adding a layer of complexity to the market dynamics.
Planting Progress and Export Insights
Corn planting progress in Texas surged to 46% completion as of 3/24, marking a 12% increase for the week and placing it 3% ahead of the average pace. Additionally, Texas milo was 37% planted by the same date, surpassing the average by 1% point. In parallel, the USDA’s weekly Export Inspections data revealed 1.23 MTM of corn shipments for the week ending on 3/21. This amount slightly decreased from the previous week’s 1.33 MMT. However, it nearly doubled the volume recorded during the same period last year. The total export volume has climbed to 24.4 MMT, a substantial increase from the 18.3 MMT reported last year.
Market Closures and Current Corn Prices
The May 24 Corn futures closed at $4.37 3/4, showing a decline of 1 1/2 cents and currently slipping further 3/4 cent. Nearby Cash was registered at $4.15 1/2, down 1 1/8 cents. July 24 Corn contracts concluded at $4.51 1/4, down 3/4 cent, and are presently down by 1 1/2 cents. The December 24 Corn futures closed at $4.74 3/4, down 1/2 cent, and are currently down by 1 1/2 cents.
On the day of publication, Alan Brugler did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data presented here are solely for informational purposes. For further details, please refer to the Barchart Disclosure Policy.
The author’s views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily align with those of Nasdaq, Inc.
