Corn prices were mixed on Thursday. While most futures were little changed or slightly firmer, the near July contract lost 5.25 US cents to 407.25 US cents/bushel. Traders were preparing for the upcoming USDA report on Friday, which caused caution in the market. The national average price for corn on the US exchange remained unchanged at 385.25 US cents/bushel.
USDA reported the sale of 110,000 metric tons of corn to unknown buyers Thursday morning, all for the new crop. Export data was well above expectations. For old crop contracts, 1.262 million tons were sold, an 8-week high and more than double the previous week and year-over-year levels. The most important buyers were Mexico with 69,900 tons and Japan with 436,200 tons. Above-average volumes of 888,562 tons were also reported for the new harvest. Mexico and Japan once again proved to be the main buyers.
According to the monthly CONAB report, Brazil raised its harvest estimate by 3.72 million tons to a total of 131.97 million tons. This was due in particular to an increase in the second crop of 3.54 million tons. In the run-up to the USDA report, a Bloomberg survey of market participants predicted a US estimate of 132.3 million tons.
In Paris on Euronext, maize closed in the green for August. It gained €5.00 to €204.25 per tonne.
