Corn rockets to 3-year high as traders eye lower US production

CANBERRA: Chicago corn futures shot to a three-year high on Monday, after a tour of US farm regions by analysts last week found that crops were in worse condition than many expected.

Wheat futures rose to their highest in two years as tit-for-tat attacks by Russia and Ukraine continued to curtail exports from Black Sea ports.

Soybeans fell, but prices were supported by strong export demand for US beans.

The most-traded corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 2.5% at $5.21 a bushel at 0351 GMT after reaching $5.22, the highest since August 2023.

Prices are up 12% so far this month.

US 2026 corn production will fall well below government forecasts, advisory service Pro Farmer said on Friday after a tour of seven major production states found subpar crops hurt by adverse summer weather.

Elsewhere, crop ratings for French grain maize stabilised after dropping to their lowest on record during an exceptionally hot and dry summer, data from farm office FranceAgriMer showed.

Traders are also wary that an El Niño weather event will reduce corn production in Brazil and nervous about Ukraine’s ability to export, said Nick Carracher, head of Australian consultancy Lachstock.

“There is underlying fundamental support,” he said.

Large speculators significantly increased their net long positions in CBOT corn in the week to Aug. 18, according to regulatory data.

In other crops, CBOT wheat was up 1.8% at $7.12 a bushel after touching $7.13-1/4, the highest since May 2024, and soybeans were down 0.4% at $12.34 a bushel.

So far this month, wheat has gained around 12% and soybeans 4%.

Continued export disruption could push wheat prices up further, Commonwealth Bank analyst Dennis Voznesenski said.

But the size of the Black Sea region’s 2026 harvest is near record levels, he said.

“A truce to not attack ports would cause a very fast price correction lower.”