Corn Futures Surge on Wheat-Led Rally Amid Rising Black Sea Tensions

Corn futures continued their rally into the weekend, fueled by support from a wheat-led surge due to rising Black Sea tensions. According to Barchart data, corn contracts rose between 5 and 11¼ cents across the board on Friday. The weekly CFTC report showed managed money spec traders in corn futures and options holding a net long of 166,770 contracts as of August 11, down from last week's level by 15,176 contracts.

The data also revealed that export sales have been strong for old crop corn, with 87.503 MMT sold so far, exceeding the USDA number by 104% and outpacing previous years' pace. However, new crop corn sales are lagging behind last year's levels at 10.575 MMT, down 23.5%. Accumulated shipments of old crop corn have reached 80.066 MMT, accounting for 95% of the USDA export projection.

The CmdtyView national average Cash Corn price rose by 11¾ cents to $4.30 on Friday, while nearby prices closed at $4.59, up 11 cents, and December prices finished at $4.83¼, also up 11¼ cents.