Corn Futures Trend Higher Despite Stagnant Prices Ahead of Harvest

The trend in most active corn futures is higher for now, according to the latest data from DTN Progressive Farmer. The noncommercial traders held a net-long position of 542,384 contracts as of September 15, closing in on the all-time record of 547,677 contracts set in late January 2021.

However, prices have been stagnant ahead of the advancing US harvest, causing noncommercial traders to be net-sellers of 615 contracts. Commercial corn traders, on the other hand, held a net-short position of 476,845 contracts as of September 15 and were net-sellers of 6,240 contracts through the CFTC reporting period.

The spread between the December 2026 contract and the March 2027 contract has firmed in six out of the past seven weeks, with the former priced 14 cents lower than the latter. This trend is attributed to crop size and harvest expectations.