Corn prices on the US futures exchanges fell sharply at the start of the week, giving up a large part of Friday's gains. In Chicago, the December contract fell by 6.75 US cents to 423.25 US cents/bushel. The March contract lost 6.25 US cents and closed at 441.00 US cents/bushel.
Fundamentally, the situation remained mixed. The weekly export inspection report showed a strong result of 1.512 million tons, 32 percent above the previous week and almost 66 percent above the previous year. Mexico, Japan and Colombia were particularly receptive. In addition, the USDA reported private sales of almost 149,000 tons to unknown destinations.
Nevertheless, bearish impulses prevailed on the market: the harvest started at 7 percent and is in line with the long-term average. Condition ratings saw a slight drop of one percentage point to 67 percent "good to excellent".
Brazilian estimates for the first corn harvest in the main region were higher than the previous year at 25.48 million tons. AgRural also reported planting progress of 17 percent.
On Euronext, on the other hand, the November price rose by €0.50 to €187.25 per tonne.
