The futures markets for corn closed firmer on Thursday. The December contract gained 4 US cents and ended trading at 410.00 US cents/bushel. The September forward contract rose by 3 US cents to 385.50 US cents/bushel. The March 2026 contract also gained 4.25 US cents. The markets will remain closed on Monday for the Labor Day holiday.
The latest export statistics from the USDA had a supportive effect. For the week ending August 21, net withdrawals of 17,797 tons were reported for the old crop year due to seasonal factors, but these were clearly in line with expectations. New bookings for the coming season totalled 2.089 million tons, hitting the upper end of analysts' estimates. Mexico was the most important buyer with 620,700 tons, followed by unknown destinations and Colombia.
Slightly bearish signals came from Canada. Statistics Canada raised its forecast for national corn production by 1.5% year-on-year and now sees the harvest at 15.55 million tons.
November corn on Euronext fell slightly by €0.75 to €188.75 per tonne.
