The September corn contract traded on Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) The corn futures contract closed this Tuesday (21) with a moderate increase of 3.25 points and 0.72%, quoted at US$ cents 452.75/bushel. The December contract rose 2.25 points and 0.47%, to US$ cents 475.25/bushel. After starting the day lower, with the market taking profits, cereal prices ended up gaining strength, supported by the more than 2% increase in oil in the international market, a factor that increases the competitiveness of North American ethanol produced from corn. However, greater gains were avoided by the good pace of development of the 2026/27 crop in the Corn Belt and by the strengthening of the dollar against the main global currencies, with the DXY operating higher during the negotiations. A survey carried out by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) until Sunday (19) shows that 59% of the area sown with corn reached the silking stage, after an advance of 25 percentage points in a week. At the same time last year, 53% of the crops were at this stage; the average for the last five years is 54%. Furthermore, 13% of the area has already entered the silking stage, compared to 6% the previous week. This percentage coincides with that observed in the same period last year and exceeds the multi-year average (11%). Regarding crop conditions, 67% were classified as good/excellent, down 1 percentage point from the previous week and still lower than the 74% recorded at the same time in 2025. Of the remainder, 24% were rated as fair and 9% as poor/very poor. US producers allocated less area to corn planting this year, and therefore, the country's production is expected to decline by 6% this season, to 406.42 million tons. The market continues to monitor weather conditions for the coming weeks, which should define the true size of the new harvest. "The heat is confined to the southern Corn Belt. Meanwhile, storms associated with a cold front are extending southwest from the lower Great Lakes region. The rest of the Midwest is being gradually covered by a cooler, drier air mass," states the USDA in its daily climate bulletin. "Despite recent weather challenges caused by high temperatures and reduced topsoil moisture, about two-thirds of U.S. crops remained in good condition," it concludes. On the radar, the winter corn harvest in Central-Southern Brazil, which surpassed half of the cultivated area last week, benefited by the interruption of the rains. In Argentina, the 2025/26 harvest is already more than 60% complete, with expectations of a record production.
This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.