# Corn Futures Fall as Weekly U.S. Exports Hit Two-Year Low

- URL: https://stocks.freetheai.org/news/corn-futures-fall-as-weekly-u-s-exports-hit-two-year-low-88ac9e
- Published: 2026-10-19T22:05:40Z
- Category: commodities; sentiment: bearish; impact: medium
- Symbols: [CBOT:ZC1!](https://stocks.freetheai.org/symbols/CBOT-ZC1!)
- Written by our AI from expert market sources across the web for FreeTheAI Stocks, built by Vibhek Soni
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U.S. corn futures declined across all contract months following a sharp drop in weekly export shipments. December 2026 corn contracts fell 7 1/4 cents to close at $4.67 per bushel, while national cash prices dropped by the same amount to $4.27 1/4 per bushel.

The drop was driven by export inspection data showing weekly corn shipments totaled just 672,475 metric tons for the week ending October 15. This was a 48.81% decline from the prior week and a 49.25% decrease from the same week last year, marking the lowest weekly shipment total since October 2024. Mexico and Colombia were the primary destinations. Total marketing year exports reached 9.131 million metric tons, 2.29% below last year's level.

Market participants are monitoring harvest progress and global production. The U.S. corn harvest reached 44% complete as of October 18, running 8 percentage points behind its average pace, while crop conditions remained steady at 56% good to excellent. In South America, Brazilian corn planting in the Center-South region reached 48%, slightly trailing last year's pace of 51%.

## Key points

- December 2026 corn futures dropped 7 1/4 cents to $4.67 per bushel, while cash prices fell to $4.27 1/4.
- Weekly U.S. corn export shipments fell 48.81% week-over-week to 672,475 metric tons, hitting a two-year low.
- Total 2026/27 marketing year corn exports reached 9.131 million metric tons, down 2.29% from last year's pace.
- The U.S. corn harvest was 44% complete as of October 18, eight percentage points behind the average pace.

## Questions and answers

### Why did corn futures fall?

Corn futures fell due to a sharp drop in weekly U.S. export shipments, which reached a two-year low of 672,475 metric tons.

### How far behind is the U.S. corn harvest?

The U.S. corn harvest was 44% complete as of October 18, running 8 percentage points behind the average pace.

### Where are U.S. corn exports heading?

Mexico was the top destination with 305,517 metric tons shipped, followed by Colombia with 205,468 metric tons.