Corn futures slipped below $5.00 per bushel, hitting a six-week low, as larger-than-expected US inventories and subdued export demand continued to weigh on prices. The USDA reported US corn stocks at 2.095 billion bushels as of September 1, a 35% increase from a year earlier and above market expectations of 1.924 billion bushels. These figures reinforced worries about ample supply as the 2026 harvest advances, with drier weather forecast to speed up fieldwork across much of the Midwest.
Export demand has also remained weak. Total US corn commitments for the 2026/27 marketing year stand at 18.774 million tonnes, 31% below the same period last year and 8% under the five-year average. The price decline has been compounded by broader softness across grain markets after China left soybeans off its list of proposed tariff reductions on US agricultural products.
A private sale of 218,600 tonnes of US corn to Mexico, including 173,800 tonnes for delivery in 2026/27, offered some limited support to the market.
