Corn prices posted modest gains Friday morning, with futures trading 2 to 3 cents higher as markets built on Thursday’s positive close.
Thursday’s session ended with corn contracts finishing 1 1/4 to 2 1/4 cents higher, with prices sitting near their intraday highs at the close.
The CmdtyView national average Cash Corn price rose 1 1/2 cents to $4.09 3/4, reflecting the broader tone of cautious optimism in the market.
USDA Export Sales data showed corn sales for 2025/26 came in at 116,740 metric tons, marking a marketing year low and sitting 31.5% below the same week last year.
South Korea was the primary destination for old-crop corn, purchasing 86,100 metric tons, while Colombia accounted for 84,300 metric tons of the total sales figure.
New-crop sales for 2026/27 were tallied at 1.027 million metric tons, landing on the higher side of analyst expectations that ranged between 0.7 and 1.2 million metric tons.
Unknown destinations led new-crop purchases at 490,400 metric tons, followed by Mexico at 151,500 metric tons and South Korea with 151,000 metric tons.
Traders are also positioning ahead of the August Crop Production report from NASS due next Wednesday, with a Reuters analyst survey pointing to an average expected yield of 182.4 bushels per acre, within a range of 180.5 to 184.8 bushels per acre.
Production is estimated at 15.934 billion bushels, with harvested acres expected to be trimmed by 76,000 acres according to the Reuters survey.
Brazilian corn exports in July totaled 1.943 million metric tons, which was well above the prior month but represented a 21.16% decline compared to the same month last year.
ANEC has estimated Brazil’s August export total at 4.08 million metric tons, which would represent a 3.26 million metric ton drop from last year if that figure is realized.
A South Korean importer added to demand signals overnight, purchasing 134,000 metric tons of corn through a tender, providing additional underlying support to prices.
September 2026 corn closed Thursday at $4.39, up 2 1/4 cents, and was trading up a further 3 cents Friday morning, while December 2026 corn closed at $4.62 and was also up 3 cents in early Friday trade.
March 2027 corn closed at $4.77 1/2, adding 1 3/4 cents in Thursday’s session and tacking on another 2 3/4 cents Friday, with New Crop Cash sitting at $4.12 3/8, up 1 1/4 cents.
