Corn Steadies on Strong U.S. Sales as Soybeans Nudge Higher and Wheat Slips

Overview

• USDA’s weekly Export Sales report on Thursday showed 1.316 million metric tons of old‑crop corn sold with 440,110 metric tons of new‑crop corn booked, 364,633 metric tons of old‑crop soybeans for a four‑week high, and 129,022 metric tons of old‑crop wheat.
• Following Thursday’s data release, futures closed Friday with soybeans steady to up 4 cents, corn mixed with December up three‑quarters of a cent, and wheat lower across Chicago, Kansas City, and Minneapolis contracts.
• EIA figures for the week of April 17 showed U.S. ethanol output down 80,000 barrels per day to 1.04 million, a drop that can curb near‑term corn use by biofuel plants even as reported ethanol inventories edged higher.
• The International Grains Council cut its global corn outlook by 3 million tons and trimmed 2026/27 corn stocks to 292 million tons, lowered soybean ending stocks to 79 million tons, and raised wheat ending stocks by 8 million tons, setting a tighter tone for corn and beans but a looser one for wheat.
• Hard red winter wheat regions from western Kansas through the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles face little to no rain in NOAA’s seven‑day outlook, a setup that helped fuel Thursday’s wheat pop before prices fell back on Friday.