Corn Plunges Monday After USDA Raises Output

Corn Futures Drop Sharply After USDA Report

Following the latest USDA data released on Monday, corn futures experienced significant declines, with front-month contracts falling by 22 to 24 ¼ cents. Longer-term contracts also saw losses, dropping between 5 and 14 ½ cents. The CmdtyView national average cash corn price decreased by 24 cents, settling at $3.83 1/4.

Earlier in the day, the USDA reported private export sales of 204,000 metric tons of corn to South Korea and an additional 310,000 metric tons to undisclosed buyers. However, these positive sales figures were overshadowed by less favorable USDA reports.

Related Updates from Barchart

USDA Crop and Stocks Reports: Key Findings

The USDA's Crop Production report released this morning indicated that the average U.S. corn yield reached 186.5 bushels per acre, a 0.5 bpa increase from November's estimate. Harvested acreage rose by 1.3 million acres to 91.3 million, pushing total production to 17.021 billion bushels—an increase of 269 million bushels compared to last month.

According to the quarterly Grain Stocks report, corn stocks as of December 1 stood at 13.282 billion bushels. This figure surpassed analyst expectations, which averaged 12.962 billion bushels, and was 1.207 billion bushels higher than the previous year.

The latest WASDE report showed U.S. ending stocks up by 198 million bushels, now projected at 2.227 billion bushels. This adjustment was driven by higher production, a 19 million bushel increase in carryover from 2024/25, and a 100 million bushel rise in feed use. Global ending stocks climbed by 11.76 million metric tons to 290.91 million, reflecting both the U.S. increase and a 6.24 million metric ton boost in Chinese output.

Export and Harvest Updates

Monday’s Export Inspections report revealed that 1.49 million metric tons (58.66 million bushels) of corn were shipped during the week of January 8. This was a 12.75% increase from the previous week and 3.4% higher than the same period last year. Mexico was the top destination, receiving 702,811 metric tons, followed by Japan with 258,110 metric tons and Taiwan with 161,058 metric tons. So far this marketing year, total corn exports have reached 28.43 million metric tons (1.119 billion bushels), up 60.54% from the same timeframe last year.

In Brazil, AgRural reported that 0.5% of the first corn crop had been harvested as of Thursday, while planting of the larger second crop was at 0.2% completion.

Recent Corn Futures and Cash Prices

• March 2026 Corn closed at $4.21 1/2, down 24 1/4 cents
• Nearby Cash price was $3.83 1/4, down 24 cents
• May 2026 Corn settled at $4.30 1/2, down 23 1/4 cents
• July 2026 Corn finished at $4.38, down 22 1/4 cents