Corn Rallying to Near the Spring Highs as Weaker Tour Yields Continue

Corn prices rallied early Thursday, with futures up about 5 to 6 cents. Contracts pushed into the Wednesday close higher, up 8 to 10 cents in most nearby months, while deferred contracts gained fractions up to roughly 5 1/4 cents. Open interest fell for September (-18,244) but rose elsewhere by a combined 13,993 contracts. The CmdtyView national average cash corn price rose a dime to $4.45 1/2. The ProFarmer Crop Tour pegged Illinois yields at 184.19 bushels per acre, down 7.71% year over year and 7.52% below the three-year average. In Iowa’s western three districts, yields ranged from 189.73 to 191.8 bpa. Ethanol production dropped 28,000 barrels per day to 1.089 million for the week ended Aug. 14, while stocks increased. USDA export sales are due, with traders expecting 0–500,000 MT old-crop sales and 0.5–1.3 MMT for new crop.