Corn Showing Fractional Gains on Tuesday Morning

Group 1 - Corn prices showed slight increases on Tuesday, with futures experiencing weaker trade on Monday ahead of a USDA report, resulting in a fractional decline of up to 2 cents [1] - Preliminary open interest decreased by 2,257 contracts, while the national average cash corn price fell by 1.25 cents to $3.98 1/4 [1] Group 2 - Export inspections data indicated that 1.453 million metric tons (MT) of corn were shipped in the week ending December 4, marking a 10.89% decrease from the previous week but a 36% increase year-over-year [2] - Mexico was the leading destination for corn exports, receiving 520,691 MT, followed by Japan with 310,828 MT and Taiwan with 81,209 MT [2] - Total marketing year shipments reached 20.63 million metric tons (MMT), reflecting a 69.36% year-over-year increase [2] Group 3 - The USDA's catchup report for export sales revealed that only 979,525 MT of corn were sold in the week ending November 6, which is the lowest for the marketing year [3] - Analysts expect the upcoming WASDE report to show U.S. corn ending stocks at 2.145 billion bushels, a decrease of 9 million bushels from the previous report [3] - A South Korean importer purchased 132,000 MT of corn in a recent tender, although the origin of the corn was not disclosed [3] Group 4 - As of December 25, corn futures closed at $4.36 1/4, down 0.5 cents, while nearby cash prices were at $3.98 1/4, down 1.25 cents [4] - March 2026 corn futures closed at $4.43 3/4, down 1 cent, and May 2026 futures closed at $4.51 1/4, also down 1 cent [4]