Corn futures ended with losses of 2 to 3 cents in the front months on June 2, while some deferred contracts finished fractionally to 1 ½ cents higher. The CmdtyView national average cash corn price remained steady at $4.08 1/2.
NASS Crop Progress data showed that as of May 31, 93% of the U.S. corn crop had been planted, which is one percentage point ahead of the typical pace. Emergence was reported at 76% of the expected area, two percent faster than normal. The initial corn crop rating stood at 67% good or excellent, which was below both the Reuters survey estimate of 70% and last year’s figure by two percent. This represented a rating of 371 on the Brugler500 index—a three-year low and among the lowest initial ratings in over a decade.
The monthly Grain Crushing report from NASS indicated that in April, ethanol production used approximately 427.68 million bushels of corn—a decrease of nearly ten percent from March but slightly higher than a year ago. Total marketing year corn grind reached about 3.653 billion bushels, up by twenty-five million compared to last year for this period.
USDA’s Federal Grain Inspection Service reported that weekly export shipments were tallied at roughly 1.728 million metric tons for the week ending May 28—an increase over both the previous week and the same week last year. Japan received more than half a million metric tons, followed by Mexico and Colombia as significant destinations. For the current marketing year through September, exports are now more than twenty-seven percent above last year’s pace.
StoneX revised its estimate for Brazil’s corn crop to about 136.8 million metric tons—a slight reduction primarily due to adjustments in second-crop projections.
Arizona Grain supports community development by leading in agriculture and improving air quality via ethanol production; it operates facilities across several Arizona locations as well as Ripley, California; functions as a privately held organization; generated jobs through Pinal Energy; aims to provide animal feed and grain products with expert support; and pioneered ethanol production in Arizona—all according to its official website.
