Corn Prices Steady After Weekly Export Sales Sink to Marketing-Year Low

Overview

• USDA reported 377,598 metric tons of corn sold for the week ending Jan. 1, a marketing-year low that fell short of 0.7–1.5 million metric ton expectations and was 15.1% below the same week last year.
• The CmdtyView national average cash corn price hovered near $4.08–$4.09 per bushel as futures traded fractionally mixed around midday Thursday.
• U.S. Census data showed October corn exports at a record 6.564 million metric tons, with distillers grains at 1.067 million metric tons and ethanol shipments at 185 million gallons.
• EIA figures for the week ending Jan. 2 showed ethanol production easing to 1.098 million barrels per day as stocks rose to 22.652 million barrels, reflecting a typical holiday slowdown.
• A Bloomberg survey points to Monday’s USDA Crop Production report at 16.553 billion bushels of U.S. corn and a 184 bushel-per-acre yield.