Corn Closes with Fractional Price Movement

Market Overview - Corn futures experienced fractional losses in the front months while other contracts saw fractional gains, with the national average Cash Corn price down by ¼ cent to $4.08 1/2 [1] Export Sales Data - For the week ending January 1, only 377,598 MT of corn were sold, falling short of the estimated range of 0.7-1.5 MMT for 2025/26, marking a marketing year low and a 15.1% decrease compared to the same week last year [2] - South Korea was the largest buyer, purchasing 139,000 MT, followed by Japan with 108,100 MT; sales for 2026/27 were recorded at 11,860 MT, within the expected range of 0-100,000 MT [2] Export Performance - Census data indicated a record export of 6.564 MMT (248.5 million bushels) of corn in October, which was a 5.93% decline from September but a 63.38% increase compared to October 2024 [3] - Distillers exports were nearly at last year's October record, totaling 1.067 MMT, while ethanol shipments reached a record pace of 185 million gallons for the month [3] USDA Report Expectations - The upcoming USDA's WASDE report is anticipated to show stocks at 1.985 billion bushels, reflecting a reduction of 44 million bushels if realized [4]