Corn Futures Retreat After Brief Rally, Export Demand Mixed

Key Moments

Futures Pull Back After Prior Session Gains

Corn prices were under pressure on Friday morning, with futures slipping 4 to 5 cents and giving back a portion of the recent strength into the final trading day of the week. This followed a firmer close on Thursday, when nearby contracts finished with gains of 2 to 3 cents, while deferred 2027 contracts ended the session fractionally lower.

Open interest increased by 16,521 contracts, indicating that fresh buying had been entering the market. The CmdtyView national average Cash Corn price moved 2 cents higher to $4.34 1/2.

Export Sales Show Mixed Year-on-Year Comparisons

Weekly Export Sales data released on Thursday reported old crop corn sales of 332,679 MT for the week of 7/16. That total was slightly above the prior week, but it was nearly half of the volume recorded in the same week a year earlier.

Mexico was the largest old crop buyer with 203,300 MT, followed by Taiwan with 152,000 MT. New crop corn export commitments improved to 701,505 MT. This was the 4th largest weekly total for new crop in the current marketing year, though it was still 4.4% below the volume from the comparable week last year. For new crop, unknown destinations led purchases at 168,000 MT, with Colombia taking 148,100 MT.

Weather Outlook: Limited Precipitation Ahead

According to NOAA’s 7-day forecast, most of the country is expected to see very limited precipitation. Southwest Nebraska, northern Missouri, and eastern Kansas are projected to receive between 1 and 2 inches of rainfall, while the remainder of the monitored areas are expected to stay relatively dry.

Corn Market Snapshot

Disclosure

On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.