Corn Futures Bleed Into Weekend as Options Expire

Corn wrapped up the week underwater. December contracts shed 4.75 cents across the trading week, with Friday marking option expiration day—a technical catalyst for the weakness.

The Numbers:

• Cash corn now trading at $3.87¼, down a penny on the session
• Dec 25 futures closed at $4.25½ (-1¢)
• Mar 26 contract at $4.37½ (-¼¢)
• May 26 holding at $4.44¾ (-½¢)

What’s Pressuring? USDA’s Grain Crushing report dropped later than scheduled, revealing 463.44M bushels of corn ground into ethanol during August. Sure, that’s 1.2% up from July, but it’s 3.36% below year-ago levels—signaling softer demand.

Positioning Shift: Managed money keeps building the short thesis. As of Oct 7 CFTC reporting, specs held 141,966 net short contracts—up 6,656 from the prior week. Bears are digging in.

Argentina Watch: Buenos Aires Grain Exchange pegged Argentina’s corn planting at 37.3%, up just 0.7 points week-over-week but trailing last year’s pace. The crop quality looks solid though—79% rated excellent to normal.

Bottom line: Corn’s stuck in a grind. No panic, but momentum’s absent heading into the weekend.