Corn futures are fractionally higher in new crop contracts and 2 cents in the red for old crop. Overnight action saw a tighter 6 cent range for the May contract, but was mostly in the red to start the last week of March. The Friday rally put corn back into the black for the week. The front months were 1.3% to 2% higher on the day, with May’s 11 1/4 cent gain leaving the contract 8 3/4 cents above last week’s close. December futures stayed a penny below last Friday’s settle and remain at a 9 1/2 cent loss for the month. Preliminary open interest shows long liquidation overall, dropping 9,916 contracts. However, there was net new buying in the December 2023 and all of the 2024 contracts.
The weekly Ethanol report from USDA had the week’s average prices ranging from $2.03 - $2.15/gl in NE to $2.18 - $2.24/gal in IL, which was mostly 3 to 9 cents higher for the week. DDGS were quoted from $235-245 in MI to $280-300/ton in MO for the week.
The weekly CFTC reports, now current, had corn spec funds 41,896 contracts net short as of 3/21. That was a 12k contract weaker net short for the week, mainly driven by net new buying. Commercial corn hedgers put 8k new short hedges on for the week. That left the group at 175,450 contracts net short.
Survey estimates ahead of USDA’s Grain Stocks report average for a 7.473 bbu corn supply. Trader estimates range from 7.24 bbu to 7.83 bbu, and compare to the 7.758 billion last season. The Q2 implied use would be 3.335 billion bushels if the average estimate is confirmed. Last year’s Q2 demand was 3.883 billion bushels.
Prospective Plantings is expected to show 90.9m acres for 23/24 corn. The full range of estimates is between 87.7 and 92.1 million. The USDA Outlook Forum was at 91 million and up from 88.6 million last year.
May 23 Corn closed at $6.43, up 11 1/4 cents, currently down 2 cents
Nearby Cash was $6.47 on Friday, up 11 3/8 cents,
Jul 23 Corn closed at $6.23, up 12 1/4 cents, currently down 2 1/4 cents
Dec 23 Corn closed at $5.60 1/4, up 8 cents, currently up 3/4 cent
On the date of publication, Alan Brugler 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.
/Alphabet%20Inc_%20and%20Google%20logos%20by%20IgorGolovinov%20via%20Shutterstock.jpg)
/Stickers%20with%20AMD%20Radeon%20and%20Nvidia%20GeForce%20RTX%20graphics%20on%20new%20laptop%20computer%20by%20Piotr%20Swat%20via%20Shutterstock.jpg)
/Unitedhealth%20Group%20Inc%20HQ%20photo-by%20jetcityimage%20via%20iStock.jpg)