Chicago corn futures held above $6.7 per bushel, not far from an over two-month high of $6.8 hit on January 17th, amid supply chain disruptions, increasing production costs, and rising global demand. The ongoing war in Ukraine, which accounts for 15% of global corn exports, alongside late planting in the US and dry weather in South American countries, continued to weigh on production. The US Department of Agriculture estimated total corn production in 2022 at 13.730 billion bushels, down 1.4% from the most recent November estimate and down 9% from the 2021 estimate of 15.074 billion bushels. Meanwhile, the demand from top consumers US and China, especially in industries such as the animal feed sector, has seen further pick-up. China is set to boost corn purchases following its economy reopening after prolonged COVID-19 lockdowns. Lastly, according to the USDA, corn export inspections of 727,643 tonnes fell below the week-ago totals, in line with market expectations.
Historically, Corn reached an all time high of 843.75 in August of 2012. Corn - data, forecasts, historical chart - was last updated on January of 2023.
Corn is expected to trade at 686.19 USd/BU by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate it to trade at 735.47 in 12 months time.