Corn futures closed nearly unchanged on Monday, with contracts ranging from down three-quarters of a cent to up a penny. The USDA reported a private export sale of 105,000 metric tons of corn to unknown destinations for the 2026/27 marketing year. The Crop Progress report showed 94% of the U.S. corn crop silking and 61% in the dough stage, six percentage points ahead of normal, while condition ratings held steady at 61% good to excellent. Export inspections reached 1.74 million metric tons for the week ending August 6, up 14.29% from the same week last year but down 7.83% from the prior week, with Mexico, Japan, and Spain as top destinations. Ahead of the August Crop Production report, a Reuters survey of analysts estimates yield at 182.4 bushels per acre and production at 15.934 billion bushels, with new crop ending stocks seen at 1.725 billion bushels, down 65 million bushels from last month. Brazil's second corn crop harvest in the center-south region reached 79%, lagging last year's 88% pace.
USDA export sale and steady crop ratings provide mixed signals; futures nearly unchanged.
