The September corn contract traded on Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) The futures contract closed this Thursday (30) with a moderate decrease of 3.25 points and 0.72%, quoted at US$ cents 445.75/bushel; the December contract retreated 3.25 points and 0.69%, to US$ cents 468.50/bushel. For the week, futures accumulated partial losses of 3.98% and 3.90%. After starting the day higher, cereal prices ended up losing strength, pressured by the fall in WTI oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), a factor that reduces the competitiveness of US ethanol produced from corn. Also weighing on prices was the forecast by the National Weather Service that storms should be recorded in the coming days in parts of Iowa and other important corn-producing states, which should alleviate the water stress observed in some locations. Earlier, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that corn crops in drought-stricken areas rose from 20% to 29% last week, compared to only 7% in the same period last year. Further gains were also limited by strong domestic demand for U.S. corn for ethanol production. As reported the previous day by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. ethanol production in the week ending July 24 totaled 1.133 million barrels per day (bpd), a volume higher than the previous week's figure (1.094 million barrels) and the second highest level ever recorded, behind only the 1.196 million barrels produced in the seven days ending January 9 of this year. Regarding international demand, the USDA recently released data showing that corn export sales for the 2025/26 crop year totaled 362,900 tons in the week ending July 23, a volume 9% higher than the previous week, but 25% below the average of the last four weeks. The market projected an amount between 400,000 and 800,000 tons. For delivery in the 2026/27 marketing year, net sales totaled 1.062 million tons in the period, with notable purchases from Mexico and unknown destinations, exceeding market projections.
This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.