Corn Futures Mixed As Market Prepares For Holiday Closure

On Wednesday, corn futures saw varied movements, with most contracts experiencing slight declines of ½ to 2 ½ cents, while the July contract managed to edge up by 1 ½ cents. Trading activity reflected anticipation of the upcoming Independence Day closure on Thursday, with markets set to resume with a hard open at 8:30 am CDT on Friday.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its weekly report, highlighting ethanol production figures for the week ending June 28. Ethanol production rose to 1.064 million barrels per day, marking a notable increase of 21,000 barrels per day from the previous week and reaching a four-week high. Ethanol stocks also rose, climbing by 171,000 barrels to 23.594 million barrels, with much of the increase originating from the Gulf region.

Meanwhile, the Census reported May exports totaling 5.97 million metric tons (235 million bushels) of corn shipments. This figure contributed to a third-quarter total of 720 million bushels, with the marketing year total standing at 1.666 billion bushels with three months remaining. Distiller exports in May reached 1.01 million metric tons, marking a three-year high and a 4.35% increase from April’s total. Additionally, May ethanol shipments amounted to 154.4 million gallons, a record for the month despite a 28% decline from the previous month’s figures.

Looking ahead to Friday’s delayed Export Sales report, traders anticipate seeing between 500,000 and 900,000 metric tons of old crop corn bookings for the week ending June 27, with projections ranging from 0 to 400,000 metric tons for new crop corn.

Closing prices for July 2024 corn futures showed a modest increase of 1 ½ cents, settling at $4.03 1/2 per bushel. Nearby cash prices closed lower at $3.92 3/4, down 1 1/2 cents, while September 2024 corn futures closed at $4.05 1/2, down 2 1/2 cents, and December 2024 corn futures settled at $4.19 1/2, down 1 3/4 cents. New crop cash prices closed at $3.80 7/8, down 2 1/4 cents.