The September corn contract traded on Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) The cereal futures contract closed this Thursday (2) stable with an upward bias (+0.25 points and +0.06%), quoted at US$ cents 423.00/bushel, with an accumulated gain of 0.30% in the partial week. The December contract, on the other hand, recorded a slight decrease of 1.75 points and 0.40%, to US$ cents 440.75/bushel, with an accumulated weekly loss of 0.23%. After two days of consistent gains, cereal prices lost strength in this trading session, pressured by the devaluation of oil in the international market, which returned to levels close to those observed before the conflict in the Middle East. The devaluation of fossil fuels reduces the competitiveness of US ethanol produced from corn. On the other hand, the weakening of the dollar against the main global currencies supported prices, with the DXY operating with a drop of more than 0.50% during today's session. This morning, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released data showing that net corn sales for delivery in the 2025/26 marketing year totaled 732,100 tons in the week ending June 25, a 2% decrease compared to the previous week and 23% below the average of the last four weeks. Sales for delivery in 2026/27 totaled 767,800 tons last week. Both performances were within market expectations. Investors remain attentive to the phenological development of the 2026/27 crop in the Corn Belt, where the planted area reached 38.57 million hectares, a 3% reduction compared to the 2025/26 cycle. Of this total planted area, only 35.37 million hectares are expected to be harvested, a 4% decrease compared to the previous season. Until last Sunday (28), 9% of the crops had 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%). As for conditions, 67% of the crops were classified as good/excellent – a drop of 1 pp compared to that recorded in 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. Weather conditions are also closely monitored by the market. The USDA's daily bulletin indicates that rain showers and storms extend southwest of the Corn Belt from the upper Great Lakes region, as a mass of tropical moisture interacts with a weak cold front. In the central and eastern portions of the Belt, very hot and humid weather continues to prevail, with maximum temperatures between 32 and 35°C. "So far, however, temperatures have not yet reached, in a generalized way, levels considered stressful for corn and soybean crops that are entering the reproductive phase," says the USDA. On the radar, the winter crop harvest in the Center-South of Brazil, which is approaching 20% of the cultivated area, according to the most recent balance from DATAGRO Grains. In Argentina, local agricultural entities indicate that the 2025/26 crop harvest has just over half of the cultivated area, hampered by high soil and grain moisture. This Friday (3), negotiations in CBOT They will take place during reduced hours, with earlier closing times.
This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.