CHICAGO- Chicago Board of Trade corn futures posted their biggest one-day rally since July after the US Department of Agriculture reported grain stocks and intended plantings below trade estimates.
The data delivered a bullish jolt that also buoyed wheat prices, analysts said.
“It shocked the market,” said Don Roose, president of US Commodities. “Corn was positive all the way around.”
Intended plantings of US corn for the 2024 harvest came in at 90.036 million acres, the USDA said, below the average analyst estimate of 91.776 million acres. Quarterly corn stocks as of March 1 were 8.347 billion bushels, below analysts’ expectations for 8.427 billion.
The most-active CBOT corn contract soared 15-1/4 cents, settling at $4.42 a bushel.
Benchmark May futures reached their highest price since Feb. 9 at $4.48 and finished about 3 percent higher for the month, after declining the previous four months.
CBOT wheat gained 12-3/4 cents to close at $5.60-1/4 a bushel, and soybeans lost 1 cent to $11.91-1/2 a bushel.
