The lead month corn contract closed below the $4 mark on Friday for the first time since the fall of 2020. March options also expired on the day with up to 9k $4 puts converted to futures. The other front months were 3 ¾ to 5 cents lower for the week and a net 16 (May) to 9 (Dec) cents weaker for the week.
Weekly Commitment of Traders data showed corn specs added 16k new shorts with 10.5k fewer longs which left their net short at 340.7k contracts for 2/20. That is a new record net short for the group going back to 2006. Commercial corn hedgers added longs during the week, taking their net long to 58,342 contracts from 40.2k last week.
The weekly Export Sales data showed 820k MT of corn was sold during the week that ended 2/15. Traders were looking for at least 700k MT. USDA had commitments at 37 MMT, or 30% ahead of last year’s pace.
EIA data showed ethanol output increased 1k bpd to 1.084 million barrels per day through the week that ended 2/16. Ethanol stocks were 308k barrels smaller to 25.5 million. The EPA has agreed to permit the sale of E-15 gasoline for the entire year; beginning in 2025. Last year, they had issued a temporary waiver to allow E-15 sales in the summer – one has not been issued yet for this year.
Mar 24 Corn closed at $3.99 3/4, down 6 1/4 cents,
Nearby Cash was $3.81 1/2, down 6 1/8 cents,
May 24 Corn closed at $4.13 1/2, down 5 cents,
Jul 24 Corn closed at $4.26 1/4, down 4 1/2 cents,
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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