Corn Climbs on Record Ethanol and Firm Export Sales as Soybeans Weaken on Slower Bookings

Overview

• The EIA reported a fresh record ethanol corn grind at 1.131 million barrels per day for the week ending December 12, with ethanol stocks drawing even as exports and refiner inputs increased.
• USDA weekly export sales for the week ending November 27 showed 1.792 million metric tons of corn versus 1.106 million metric tons of soybeans, with soybean sales down 52% from the prior week and well below last year.
• Corn futures gained 4 to 4.5 cents on Thursday while soybeans fell 6 to 7 cents, reflecting the split between strong corn demand signals and softening soybean bookings.
• USDA confirmed private sales of 177,055 metric tons of U.S. corn to Mexico and 114,000 metric tons of soybeans to unknown destinations, adding fresh demand cues to both markets.
• Backlogged CFTC updates showed funds flipping to a net long of 23,270 corn contracts by December 2 after a late‑November net short, while managed money remained net long in soybeans, highlighting rapidly shifting speculative positioning.