Corn Futures Stabilize Fractionally Higher as Export and Crop Reports Loom
Corn futures (CBOT:ZC1!) stabilized with minor gains on Thursday morning, recovering slightly from Wednesday's losses of 2 to 6 cents per contract. The previous session's decline retraced some of Tuesday's gains, even as open interest grew by 8,943 contracts. Meanwhile, the national average cash price for corn dropped 6 cents to settle at $4.63 1/4.
The market is finding support from steady demand and production data. Weekly domestic ethanol output rose by 46,000 barrels per day to reach 1.053 million barrels per day, while stockpiles experienced a seasonal decline of 122,000 barrels to 23.743 million barrels. On the global front, importers in South Korea secured 324,000 metric tons of corn in overnight transactions.
Market participants are now focusing on key upcoming supply and demand reports. Weekly export sales figures are anticipated to show transactions between 0.6 and 1.7 million metric tons. Additionally, upcoming crop data on Friday is expected to show a reduction in national yield by 0.7 bushels per acre to 177.8 bushels per acre, potentially lowering overall production by 67 million bushels.
Key points
- Corn futures picked up fractional gains on Thursday morning after dropping 2 to 6 cents on Wednesday.
- Weekly domestic ethanol production increased by 46,000 barrels per day while stockpiles fell by 122,000 barrels.
- South Korean importers purchased 324,000 metric tons of corn in overnight tenders.
- Traders anticipate Friday crop data will show a yield reduction of 0.7 bushels per acre.
Written by our AI from expert market sources across the web. It can contain mistakes: check the facts before acting on them. Write-ups powered by the free AI API at FreeTheAI.org
How we writeDisclaimerQuestions and answers
Why did corn prices fluctuate recently?
Prices retraced early-week gains with losses of 2 to 6 cents on Wednesday before stabilizing fractionally higher on Thursday.
What are the expectations for the upcoming crop production report?
Market participants expect average yields to be trimmed by 0.7 bushels per acre to 177.8 bushels, reducing total production.
How did ethanol production perform recently?
Weekly ethanol output rose by 46,000 barrels per day to 1.053 million, while inventories fell by 122,000 barrels.