US corn futures strengthened moderately on Tuesday. In Chicago, corn was up 2.00 US cents for May at 457.75 US cents/bushel.
Support came primarily from inventories. At 9.024 billion bushels as at March 1, these were well below market expectations and thus had a clearly bullish effect on the old crop. Despite a strong increase compared to the previous year, the figure was seen by traders as stabilizing prices.
At the same time, the cultivation plans created a headwind. The USDA puts the corn area at 95.338 million acres. Although this represents a decline on the previous year, it is above market expectations and is therefore interpreted as bearish for the new harvest.
The market therefore remains caught between two factors: While the tighter than expected stocks are providing short-term support, the more extensive acreage plans are limiting the upside potential. Accordingly, trading is friendly, but without a clear sense of optimism. On Euronext, June rose by €1.25 to €209.50/t.
