Corn futures slipped to around $4.40 per bushel, pulling back from multi-week highs as weakness in crude oil pressured sentiment across agricultural markets. Oil prices tumbled on growing optimism over a potential US-Iran agreement that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz, undermining support for crops linked to biofuel demand. Agricultural commodities are closely tied to energy markets, reflecting the increasing use of crop-based feedstocks in biofuel production.
Further downward pressure came from expectations of ample supplies, with brokerage StoneX forecasting the 2026 US corn harvest at 16.16 billion bushels. Although the USDA reduced its good-to-excellent rating for the US corn crop for a third consecutive week, the deterioration was not enough to counter the market’s broadly bearish supply outlook.
At the same time, traders kept a close watch on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and its implications for Black Sea grain exports. Nonetheless, prospects for another large harvest from the region continued to weigh on prices.
