Corn Rally on Thursday with Crude Oil Gains

Group 1 - Corn futures closed with most contracts increasing by 6 to 9 ¾ cents, supported by excellent export sales data and a rally in the crude oil market [1] - The national average cash corn price rose by 9 ½ cents to $4.12 ¾ [1] - Export sales data for the week of February 26 showed 2.02 million metric tons (MMT) in old crop corn sales, nearly tripling the previous week and more than doubling the same week last year [2] Group 2 - South Korea was the top buyer of corn, purchasing 530,300 MT, followed by Colombia with 225,000 MT and Mexico with 224,700 MT [2] - New crop business totaled 154,000 MT, all sold to Japan [2] - Brazil's February corn exports were reported at 1.55 MMT, an increase of 9.34% from last year, but lower than January's total [3] Group 3 - The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange estimates that 7.2% of the early corn crop in Argentina has been harvested, with a total crop estimate of 57 MMT [3] - Statistics Canada reported corn acreage intentions for this year at 3.846 million acres, reflecting a 1.7% increase from the previous year [3] - Closing prices for corn on March 26 were as follows: $4.41 ½ (up 9 ¾ cents), cash at $4.12 ¾ (up 9 ½ cents), May 26 at $4.53 ½ (up 9 ¾ cents), and July 26 at $4.62 ¾ (up 9 ¼ cents) [3]