The July corn contract traded on Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) The price of corn closed this Tuesday (30) with a significant increase of 10.75 points and 2.67%, quoted at US$ cents 412.75/bushel; the September contract recorded a strong advance of 6.50 points and 1.58%, to US$ cents 416.75/bushel. In June, on the other hand, futures accumulated losses of 7.61% and 8.56%, respectively. In this trading session, cereal prices were supported by the annual planted area report from the United States Department of Agriculture, which indicated that US producers planted 38.57 million hectares with corn in the 2026/27 crop, a 3% reduction compared to the previous season. Compared to the previous crop, the planted area decreased or remained unchanged in 40 of the 48 states considered in the survey. The USDA also estimates that, of the total corn area, only 35.37 million hectares will be harvested, a 4% decrease compared to the 2025/26 cycle. The development of the 2026/27 crop in the Corn Belt is closely monitored by the market. A survey conducted until last Sunday (28) by the USDA shows that 9% of the crops have already reached the silking stage, a pace ahead of that recorded in the previous season (7%) and the average of the last five years (6%). The weekly progress was 4 pp. As for crop conditions, 67% were classified as good/excellent – a decrease of 1 pp compared to the previous week and below the 73% of the last season. Of the remainder, 25% were assessed as fair and 8% as poor/very poor. The USDA's daily bulletin indicates that storms are confined to the upper Midwest, while in other areas, very hot weather – with maximum temperatures between 32°C and 35°C – is promoting rapid development of summer crops. The National Weather Service (NWS) indicates that temperatures should reach 38°C in Iowa this Tuesday and exceed 40°C in southern Minnesota. In the next three days, they should reach 41°C in northern Illinois and Indiana. The USDA also reported that US corn stocks totaled 134.49 million tons as of June 1st of this year, a volume above the 117.93 million tons recorded on the same date in 2025. Limiting further losses, oil fell more than 1% in the international market, a factor that reduces the competitiveness of US corn-based ethanol. The second corn crop harvest in Brazil remains on the radar, as well as the progress of fieldwork in Argentina.
This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.