U.S. corn futures for September 2012, March 2011 - July 2012. CME Group

20 July 2012 (CME Group) – September Corn finished up 16 3/4 at 824 1/2, 4 1/4 off the high and 25 up from the low. December Corn closed up 17 1/4 at 795 3/4. This was 16 3/4 up from the low and 1 1/4 off the high. September and December corn traded sharply higher into the close. September corn posted a new high for the move while the December contract once again failed to move above the 800 level, offering a slightly negative technical view. The trade believes crop conditions could lose another 3-5% on their good/excellent ratings on Monday’s Crop Condition report. Weather forecasts continue to look abysmal for US row crops the next two weeks with below normal rainfall and above normal temperatures in the central Midwest. Temperatures are expected to reach 95-105 degrees in Kansas, Missouri, South Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska this week; increasing stress on crops. The blistering temperatures are expected to last until the middle of next week. Iran bought 50,000 tonnes of Brazilian corn today and sluggish export sales reported yesterday suggest demand is slowly backing off. The bearish demand headlines are being offset by lower corn yield estimates. A closely followed commodity weather agency revised their new crop corn yield to 136.2 bushels/acre. This was down from 152.2 bushels per acre. Yield could fall further if current weather patterns persist into August. Grain markets are trading higher despite the negative outside markets and a sharply higher US Dollar. September Rice finished up 0.04 at 15.535, equal to the high and 0.025 up from the low.

Corn Market Recap for 7/20/2012