Corn and Beans Lower Last Week

It was a discouraging week for corn prices even though corn was about 6 cents higher on Friday. Corn for September lost about 20 cents a bushel. On the charts corn posted a reversal lower on the week. Corn exports remain slow and traders are also concerned about ethanol demand with low profitability and higher stocks of ethanol. The Commitment of Traders report showed the funds or managed money are still long 187,260 contracts. The commercials are near record short at 522,525 contracts.

Beans were higher too Friday gaining 13 to 20 cents but beans were still lower on the week. There was some talk Friday that talks with China were going well. However, we have been down that road many times in the last few months. The Commitment of Traders Report showed the funds cut their short positions by 2,999 contracts to a net short 38,935 contracts. There was also a Reuters report on Friday that Brazil's soybean crop was lower in quality this year. That may affect their ability to export beans to China.