The corn futures market at midday Friday got gut-punched by another surprisingly bearish USDA report. December corn futures (ZCZ26) on Friday closed down 20 1/2 cents to $4.79 3/4, hit a two-month low, and for the week were down 18 cents. The Agriculture Department raised its U.S. corn crop estimate 234 million bushels from last month. The average U.S. corn yield increased 2.7 bushels to 181.2 bushels per acre — way above market expectations. New-crop corn carryover at 1.849 billion bushels was up 282 million bushels from last month and is 179 million bushels above the average pre-report trade estimate. The USDA put the national average on-farm cash corn price for 2025-26 at $4.70, down a dime from last month.
Friday’s technically bearish weekly low close suggests more chart-based selling in corn futures early this week. Traders will continue to monitor the weekly USDA crop progress reports, with this week’s report out on Tuesday afternoon due to the Columbus Day holiday today.
