CBOT corn ends lower on expanding US harvest progress
CORN•CBOT December corn fell 6 cents, or 1.2%, to $5.02 per bushel as expanding Midwest harvesting and a stronger US dollar pressured prices.
1. Harvest progress weighs
Clear Midwest skies this week enabled farmers to increase harvesting after delays from heavy late-September rains, though questions about crop quality persisted. Midwest cash markets for corn and soybeans softened as fieldwork continued.
2. Ethanol and estimates
US corn-based ethanol production rose 46,000 barrels per day to 1.053 million barrels per day in the week ended October 2. Ethanol stockpiles fell 122,000 barrels to 23.743 million, their lowest since January. Ahead of Friday's USDA supply-and-demand reports, analysts on average expected the agency to lower its 2026 US corn yield estimate to 177.7 bushels per acre from 178.5 last month.
