Corn Slips into the Weekend

Group 1 - Corn futures experienced losses across the front months, with December down 4 ¾ cents this week as options expired [1] - The national average Cash Corn price decreased by 1 cent to $3.87 1/4 [1] - The USDA's delayed Grain Crushing report indicated that 463.44 million bushels of corn were used in ethanol production in August, reflecting a 1.2% increase from July but a 3.36% decrease year-over-year [1] Group 2 - CFTC data from the week of October 7 revealed that managed money held a net short position of 141,966 contracts in corn futures and options, an increase of 6,656 contracts [2] - The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange reported that 37.3% of the Argentina corn crop is planted, which is a 0.7 percentage point increase from the previous week, although it lags behind the same week last year [2] - The crop is rated 79% in excellent to normal categories [2]