May corn closed 4c off its high for the day with an 11 cent rally out of the reports. July corn futures also settled near the high on an 8 3/4 cent gain. For the week, old crop prices were 13 to 17 1/2 cents higher. The month of March closed as a 13 3/4 cent gain for May corn. May remains a near 25 cents premium to the July. New crop futures closed the day half a cent in the red. December saw a wide 16 1/4 cent range on the day from -8 3/4 to +7 1/2 cents. December contracts roll into April following a net 3 1/4 cent loss for the month.
Weekly CFTC data showed managed money closed 21k shorts and added 7.5k new longs during the week that ended 3/28. The spec fund group was still net short by 13,288 contracts. Commercial corn hedgers added 10k new short hedges and closed 18k existing longs for a 203,547 contract net short on 3/28.
USDA’s weekly Ethanol report showed the regional ethanol cash prices were 3 to 13 cents/gal higher from $2.05 to $2.30/gal. DDGS were mostly lower for the week within $25 of UNCH. The cash corn oil market was within 4 cents of last week, from 50 to 58 cents/lb.
USDA confirmed corn stocks were 7.4 bbu on March 1st. That was a 357 mbu tighter supply yr/yr and implied a 3.421 bbu use for the Q2. The trade was looking to see a 7.473 bbu corn supply implying 3.335 billion bushels Q2 use. Last year’s Q2 demand was 3.883 bbu. NASS reported 4.106 bbu of (55.5%) corn supplies were still in farmer hands, compared to 4.08 bbu (52.6%) last year.
Prospective Plantings data had 91.996 million acres for corn. That was 1 million above the trade average guess, and nearly 1m above the Feb Forum figure. At the state level, NE and TX were the only major states to lose acres yr/yr, while ND’s 27% increase would mean more acreage than OH. IL was 1.9% higher yr/yr, as IA increased 1.6% to 13.1 million. For milo, NASS survey respondents intend to plant 5.975m acres, down from 6.325m last year and under USDA’s Feb projection of 6.5 million.
May 23 Corn closed at $6.60 1/2, up 11 cents,
Nearby Cash was $6.66 5/8, up 9 7/8 cents,
Jul 23 Corn closed at $6.36, up 8 3/4 cents,
Dec 23 Corn closed at $5.66 1/2, down 1/2 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.
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