Corn Pressured on Friday, Hold Weekly Gains
Corn futures ended the week on a lower note, as contracts were down 1 ¾ to 2 ¾ cents at the close with Dec rolling off the board. Despite the late week pressure, March was up 2 cents since last Friday. The national average Cash Corn price from cmdtyView was down 2 cents at $4.13.
Friday afternoon Commitment of Traders data showed spec funds in corn futures and options adding 77,670 contracts to their net long position as of Tuesday’s close. That net position was 165,890 contracts on December 10, the largest in 22 months. Commercials added 82,715 contracts to their net short, now at 386,100 contracts by Tuesday.
Following the release of the weekly Export Sales report, accumulated corn shipments are now 12.567 MMT. That is up 31% from last year and 20% of USDA’s new export projection, ahead of the 17% average pace. If you through in the unshipped sales, commitments are 35.138 MMT, 29% above last year. That is also 56% of the USDA number, with the average pace at 53%.
The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange pegs the Argentina corn crop at 55.6% planted, running ahead of the normal pace.
Dec 24 Corn closed at $4.30, down 1 3/4 cents,
Nearby Cash was $4.13, down 2 cents,
Mar 25 Corn closed at $4.42, down 1 1/2 cents,
May 25 Corn closed at $4.49 1/4, down 1 3/4 cents,
On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
