Corn futures saw a slight uptick on Friday, with prices increasing by 1 to 4 cents across the front months. Despite this positive movement, March closed the week down by 4 ¼ cents. The support from gains in the wheat market helped to buoy corn prices. The national average Cash Corn price, as reported by CmdtyView, rose by 1 3/4 cents to $3.94 1/4. As the Crop Insurance price discovery period winds down, the average December corn close has been $4.60, which is a decrease of ten cents from the same period last year.
Export Sales data continued to show robust export sales, with old crop corn sales totaling 1.47 MMT in the week of 2/12. While this figure was slightly lower than the previous week, it was still 1.1% higher than the same week last year. New crop sales reached 65,700 MT during that week, with top buyers including Japan, Mexico, and Taiwan. In terms of market sentiment, Commitment of Traders data revealed that speculators trimmed 20,795 contracts from their net long position in the week of February 17, resulting in a net short position of 27,415 contracts.
In overnight trading, a South Korean importer purchased a total of 132,000 MT in a tender, indicating continued demand for corn on the international market. Closing prices for corn futures on Friday were as follows: Mar 26 Corn closed at $4.27 1/2, up 1 3/4 cents; Nearby Cash was $3.94 1/4, up 1 3/4 cents; May 26 Corn closed at $4.39 3/4, up 3 1/2 cents; and Jul 26 Corn closed at $4.48 1/4, up 3 3/4 cents.
It is important to note that the information and data presented in this article are for informational purposes only. The author, Austin Schroeder, does not hold any positions in the securities mentioned. For more details, the original article can be found on Barchart.com.
