The July corn contract traded on Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Corn closed this Thursday (14) with a significant drop of 13.25 points and 2.76%, quoted at US$ cents 467.50/bushel. The September contract fell 13.00 points and 2.67%, to US$ cents 474.25/bushel. For the week, futures accumulated losses of 0.80% and 0.73%, respectively. In this trading session, corn followed the devaluation of its peers in CBOT and the strengthening of the dollar against major global currencies, with the DXY advancing 0.35% near the close of trading in Chicago. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Earlier, it was reported that corn export sales for the 2025/26 season totaled 684,800 tons in the week ending May 7, a 50% decrease compared to the previous week and 52% compared to the average of the last four weeks. This performance also fell short of market projections, which ranged from 1 to 1.9 million tons. Investors remain attentive to the progress of planting for the 2026/27 crop in the Corn Belt and the initial development of the crops. The USDA's daily bulletin indicates that, in the week ending May 12, rainfall was quite scarce in the northern half of the region, including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Michigan, while the southern strip – especially parts of Kentucky, southern Missouri, and the Ohio Valley – experienced more active weather conditions, with above-normal rainfall volumes. As a result, corn crops in drought-affected areas increased by 1 percentage point in the week ending April 12, to 28% of the total, compared to 22% in the same period last year. Oil, which directly influences the competitiveness of US corn-based ethanol, traded near stability in this session, with an accumulated gain of more than 6% for the week. The Energy Information Administration reported yesterday that ethanol production in the United States increased last week, while biofuel stocks fell to their lowest level since January of this year, signaling strong domestic demand for corn. On the radar is the prospect of bumper crops in South America. On Tuesday, the USDA raised its estimate for the 2025/26 corn crop in Brazil and Argentina to 135.00 and 59.00 million tons – increases of 3.00 and 7.00 million tons, respectively, compared to previous projections.
This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.