Corn futures are trading higher Wednesday morning, up 5 to 6 cents, building on Tuesday’s mixed performance. Front-month contracts closed lower Tuesday, down ¼ to 1¾ cents, while new crop contracts advanced ¾ to 2¾ cents. Total open interest rose 11,491 contracts, indicating modest new buying interest. The CmdtyView national average cash corn price slipped 1½ cents to $3.83¾.
Crop condition reports show 68% of the US corn crop rated good to excellent, up 1 percentage point from the prior week according to Monday’s Weekly Crop Progress data. The Brugler500 index climbed 1 point to 373, driven by improved excellent ratings. Notable gains occurred in Ohio (+21), South Dakota (+14), Indiana (+7), and Minnesota (+4), while Iowa (-9), Missouri (-7), Nebraska (-10), and North Dakota (-2) experienced declines.
Weather models project widespread precipitation across the primary growing region, with forecasts calling for over an inch of rain in much of the Western Corn Belt. Eastern portions of the Corn Belt, stretching from eastern Nebraska to western Pennsylvania and covering parts of southern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, are expected to receive 2 to 4 inches of rainfall.
The EIA is scheduled to release data this morning, with market participants anticipating an improvement in ethanol production for the week ending last Friday, following steady output the previous week.
Jul 26 Corn closed at $4.13¾, down 1¾ cents, and is currently up 5¼ cents. September corn closed at $4.22½, down ¼ cent, and is trading 5½ cents higher. December corn closed at $4.42½, up ¾ cent, and is up 5¾ cents presently. New crop cash corn stands at $3.97⅜, up ¼ cent.