CHICAGO- Chicago Board of Trade corn futures closed lower on Friday after the market stormed to an 18-month high on strong US export demand, traders said.
Prices cooled as traders booked profits before the weekend and anticipated that the US Department of Agriculture will project large US plantings and yields for the 2025 crop at a conference next week.
Forecasts for widespread rain in Argentina’s farm belt and parts of Brazil next week added pressure on futures, traders said.
Soybean futures also weakened, while wheat futures rose.
Traders expect the recent surge in corn prices will encourage US farmers to plant more of the grain this spring, as the crop looks more profitable than soybeans. Agricultural lender CoBank projected on Thursday that corn plantings will jump about 4 percent from 2024 to 94.55 million acres.
The USDA is slated to issue crop estimates at its annual Agricultural Outlook Forum next week.
“Everyone knows it’s going to be somewhat bearish,” said Angie Setzer, partner at Consus Ag.
Most-active corn futures ended down 7-3/4 cents at $5.05 per bushel after rising to $5.13-1/4, a price last seen in August 2023. Before the setback, the contract had gained 12 percent since the start of the year.
Export demand has been robust as US prices have been attractive on the global market.
