Crude Oil Weighs on Corn Futures Amid Record Ethanol Production
Corn futures are experiencing a reversal in fortunes on Tuesday, trading lower by 7 to 8 cents across most contracts. This decline comes after Monday's gains, and is being fueled by downward pressure from crude oil prices, which have fallen $4.30. The CmdtyView national average Cash Corn price has dropped 7 3/4 cents to $4.12.
The latest Crop Progress report showed that 90% of the US corn crop had silked by August 2, with 43% in the dough stage and 6% dented. This puts the crop ahead of normal, but US condition ratings have slipped another 2%, bringing them down to 61% good to excellent. Deterioration was noted in several states, including ND (-26), KS (-20), NE (-15), MN (-6), WI (-5), SD (-4) and MO (-1). Some improvement was seen in the I states, with IA (+2), IL (+4), and IN (+1), as well as OH (+4).
Grain Crushing data from Monday showed 466.71 mbu of corn used for ethanol production in June, down 1.5% from last month but up 4.43% year-over-year to a record June total. Marketing year production is now 76 mbu above last year at 4.595 bbu.