Corn price action early on Tuesday is 1 to 2 cents higher. Futures closed out Monday with contracts 2 to 5 ¾ cents in the red, as the bear spreading continues. Preliminary open interest on Monday was down 8,414 contracts, mainly in the July (-10,891) and December (-1,291). The front month CmdtyView national average Cash Corn price was down 6 1/2 cents at $4.13 1/4. 

Weekly Crop Progress data showed the US corn crop now 93% planted as of Sunday, matching the 5-year average, with emergence 1 percentage point ahead of normal at 78%. The second week of condition ratings saw a 1% shift to good/excellent at 69%, with the Brugler500 index up 1 point to 375.

Monthly Grain Crushing data was released on Monday afternoon, showing 425.8 mbu of corn used for ethanol production in April. That was down 6% from last month, but 0.77% above April 2024 and a 6-year high for the month. For the marketing year, 3.634 bbu of corn has been consumed, up 20 mbu from the same point last year. 

USDA’s Export Inspections report indicated a total of 1.576 (60.05 mbu) of corn shipped in the week that ended on 5/29. That was up 11.26% from the previous week and 11.03 above the same week in 2024. Mexico was the largest destination of 415,593 MT, with 388,008 MT headed to Japan, and 263,768 MT to South Korea. Marketing year shipments have totaled 48.58 MMT (1.913 bbu) with since September 1 in the MY, which is up 28.54% compared to the same week last year.

Ukraine’s Ag minister estimates the country’s corn crop near 26 MMT, which is below the 30.5 MMT from the USDA’s initial target.

Jul 25 Corn  closed at $4.38 1/4, down 5 3/4 cents, currently up 1 1/2 cents

Nearby Cash  was $4.13 1/4, down 6 1/2 cents,

Sep 25 Corn  closed at $4.20 3/4, down 2 1/2 cents, currently up 1 3/4 cents

Dec 25 Corn  closed at $4.35 3/4, down 2 3/4 cents, currently up 1 3/4 cents

New Crop Cash  was $3.93 3/4, down 2 1/4 cents,