Corn Futures Extend Rally on Wednesday Amid Tight Stocks and Strong Ethanol Demand

Corn futures advanced 4 to 7 cents across most contracts Wednesday, building on momentum from the previous session’s USDA reports. Overnight, 325 delivery notices were issued against July futures, while the CmdtyView national average cash corn price climbed 5 cents to $3.90 1/4 per bushel.

Energy market data provided additional support. The Energy Information Administration reported ethanol production rose 27,000 barrels per day to 1.117 million bpd for the week ended June 26. Ethanol inventories increased 105,000 barrels to 24.690 million barrels, while exports rebounded 5,000 bpd to 126,000 bpd. Refinery ethanol inputs slipped 2,000 bpd to 921,000 bpd.

Traders await Thursday’s Export Sales report, with Reuters-surveyed analysts projecting old-crop corn sales of 0.5 to 1.1 million metric tons for the week ended June 25. New-crop sales are expected between 0.4 and 1.1 MMT.

Tuesday’s USDA Acreage report pegged 2026 corn plantings at 95.343 million acres—just 5,000 acres above March intentions and above the 95.1 million-acre trade estimate. Meanwhile, June 1 grain stocks came in at 5.295 billion bushels, roughly 120 million bushels below the average trade guess and below the lowest analyst estimate of 5.3 billion bushels. Despite the tight figure, stocks remain 14% above year-ago levels.

Key Price Levels (Wednesday):

Jul 26 Corn: $4.19 3/4, up 7 cents

Nearby Cash: $3.90 1/4, up 5 cents

Sep 26 Corn: $4.21, up 4 1/4 cents

Dec 26 Corn: $4.41, up 5 cents

New Crop Cash: $3.94 1/4, up 3 3/4 cents

Source link