Corn prices fell slightly in Chicago on Tuesday morning.

At 10:05 am (Brasilia time) this Tuesday (19), the July corn contract traded on Chicago Stock Exchange (CBOT) The September contract showed a slight decrease of 0.75 points and 0.16%, quoted at US$ cents 476.25/bushel; the September contract retreated 0.50 points and 0.10%, to US$ cents 481.75/bushel. After rising more than 4% the previous day (18), cereal prices were slightly lower this morning, with some investors taking profits. Also weighing on prices was the almost 1% drop in oil on the international market, after US President Donald Trump suspended a planned attack against Iran to allow negotiations to end the war in the Middle East. The devaluation of fossil fuels reduces the competitiveness of US ethanol produced from corn. The weekly drop in corn export inspections and the strengthening of the dollar abroad also had repercussions. The DXY – an index that compares the strength of the US currency against a basket of major global currencies – rose 0.30%. The market is keeping a close eye on the progress of planting the new crop in the Corn Belt and the weather conditions for the region. Data collected up to Sunday (17) by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows that planting advanced 19 pp last week, reaching 76% of the projected 38.58 million hectares – a pace in line with that recorded at the same point in the previous cycle, but ahead of the multi-year average (70%). Furthermore, 39% of the area has already reached the emergence phase, compared to 47% in the previous season and 37% on average over the last five years. On the radar are the slowdown in the harvest of the 2025/26 corn crop in Argentina – given the prioritization of soybean crops – and the final development of the second crop in Brazil, which accounts for more than 80% of the Brazilian supply of the cereal.

This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.