Corn futures are continuing the weakness into Tuesday, with pressure lead in the new crops. Contracts are down 2 ¾ to 5 cents. The CmdtyView national average Cash Corn price is down 2 ¼ cents at $4.05 1/4.
NASS Crop Progress data showed 93% of the US corn crop planted as of May 31, 1 percentage point ahead of normal. Emergence was at 76% of the expected area, 2% faster than normal. The initial corn crop rating came in a 67% good/excellent, coming in below the 70% estimate from a Reuters survey of analysts and 2% below the year prior. That was a 371 rating on the Brugler500 index (100-500 point scale of the 5 USDA categories), which was a 3-year low and the third lowest initial rating in the last 13 years.
The 7-day forecast from NOAA shows ½ inches across much of the Western Corn Belt, west of the Mississippi River. East of that line is looking at less than an inches of rainfall.
The monthly Grain Crushing report from NASS showed 427.68 mbu of corn used for ethanol production in April, a 9.9% drop from March but 1.05% larger yr/yr. Marketing year corn grind is 3.653 bbu, up 25 mbu from the same period last year.
A couple South Korean importers purchased an estimated 120,000 to 136,000 MT of corn in tenders overnight.
Jul 26 Corn is at $4.41 1/4, down 2 3/4 cents,
Nearby Cash is at $4.05 1/4, down 2 1/4 cents,
Sep 26 Corn is at $4.49, down 3 3/4 cents,
Dec 26 Corn is at $4.68, down 4 1/2 cents,
New Crop Cash is at $4.20 3/4, down 3 3/4 cents,
