Corn Holds Higher on Thursday as December Breaches $5

Corn futures held steady on Thursday, maintaining most of their intraday gains, climbing 1 to 5 ¾ cents across the front months. The national average Cash Corn price reached $4.50, while the ProFarmer Crop Tour reported Illinois corn yields at an average of 184.19 bushels per acre, a 7.71% decrease from the previous year and 7.52% below the 3-year average.

In Iowa, the western Three districts were found to have corn yields ranging from 189.73 to 191.8 bushels per acre, both below their respective tour averages from the previous year. The final Iowa yield, along with Minnesota, would be revealed later that evening.

Meanwhile, Arabica Coffee was seen consolidating below its week's 6.5-month high due to sugar prices. Coffee prices rose as India eased its sugar import duties. Barchart Brief newsletter provided a midday guide to what was moving stocks, sectors, and investor sentiment, which was freely available to subscribers.

USDA Export Sales data from the week of August 13 indicated that 232,892 metric tons (MT) of old crop corn were sold, surpassing last year's net cancellations but slightly down from the previous week. Japan bought the most, taking 192,700 MT, followed by Spain with 121,200 MT. New crop business totaled 816,097 MT, marking a 4-week low and a 71.5% drop from the previous year due to declining demand. Mexico was the primary buyer of new crop corn, purchasing 305,400 MT, with 184,000 MT going to Japan.

International Grains Council data showed a decline in world corn production by 1 million metric tons to 1.305 billion MT. Consumption dropped by 1 million metric tons, while stocks remained unchanged at 293 million metric tons. On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not have any positions in the securities mentioned in the article. All data and information presented were for informational purposes only.