Corn Ends Friday in the Red

Core Insights - Corn futures experienced losses of 3 to 4 cents, with December futures down 2 cents this week, and the national average cash corn price decreased by 3.75 cents to $3.78 [1] Group 1: Market Positioning - Managed money increased their net short position in corn futures and options by 14,624 contracts as of September 23, resulting in a total net position of -94,675 contracts, primarily due to long liquidation [2] - Commercials reduced their net short position by 10,692 contracts to 97,598 contracts, indicating an increase in long positions for end-user hedging [2] Group 2: Export and Inventory Data - Corn export sale commitments reached 25.757 million metric tons (MMT), marking a record for the third week of the marketing year and 75% higher than the same week last year, representing 34% of the USDA's export projection [3] - Analysts expect the USDA to report 1.336 billion bushels (bbu) of corn on hand as of September 1, with estimates ranging from 1.26 to 1.45 bbu [3] Group 3: International Developments - A South Korean importer purchased 68,000 metric tons of corn in a recent tender, with the origin unspecified [4] - Argentina's agricultural ministry reported that the country's corn crop is 12% planted, ahead of the 9% from the previous year [4]