Corn Market Fading Wednesday Gains at Midday

Corn prices drifted lower at midday on Thursday, down 5 to 8 cents as broad declines in agricultural commodities and weak weekly export sales weighed on the market. After posting gains of 5 to 9 cents Wednesday—supported by near-limit advances in wheat—corn turned down despite open interest rising by 7,799 contracts, indicating net new buying. The U.S. national cash average fell 8 cents to $4.09½, according to CmdtyView. USDA’s weekly Export Sales undershot the expected 500,000 to 1 million metric tons for old-crop corn in the week of July 9, recording 314,962 MT, a marketing-year low but triple last year’s level. New-crop sales for 2026/27 were 311,222 MT, a six-week low, and total commitments reached 6.859 MMT. Weather inputs included NOAA forecasts for relatively dry conditions across much of the Western Corn Belt, and wetter patches in parts of the Eastern Belt. IGC cut its 2026/27 world production projection by 4 MMT to 1.306 billion tonnes. Futures showed Sep 26 corn at $4.40¼, down 7¼ cents.