May 6

5/6 - After hitting 3-year lows of $3.99 per bushel in February, corn futures have rallied back to $4.60. U.S. corn planting intentions are below year ago. In global markets severe flooding in S. Brazil and crop disease in Argentina are threatening to reduce world supplies – potentially increasing demand for U.S. corn exports. On the plus side, spring weather has been generally favorable. The USDA reported last week that 27% of the corn crop is planted, vs. a 5-year average of 22%, and expectations are for that number to be near 40% this week. In April’s WASDE report, the USDA pegged U.S. corn output at a near-record high 15.34B bushels and lowered its 2023/24 corn price forecast by a nickel to $4.75 per bushel, down from $6.54 in 2022/23. The USDA will be updating that forecast this coming Friday (5/10). Corn forward futures contracts are averaging $4.70 per bushel for the 2nd half of 2024, and $4.98 for 2025.