According to Grain Crushings data, a total of 449.44 million bushels of corn were used for ethanol production in May. This was 6.2% higher than April but 1.31% lower than the same month in 2024. The total usage for the marketing year through the first three quarters stands at 4.08 billion bushels, which is 11 million bushels more than the same period last year.

As per Crop Progress data, 8% of the U.S. corn crop had reached the silking stage by June 29, ahead of the 6% average. Crop condition ratings improved by 3 percentage points to 73% good/excellent, with the Brugler500 index up by 6 points to 382. Many states showed improvement — Nebraska and South Dakota were up 16 points, Texas gained 28 points, and Iowa was 5 points better. However, eastern states showed weaker ratings — Ohio fell by 5 points, Illinois by 4, and Indiana by 1.

NOAA’s 7-day QPF forecast indicates rainfall of up to 1.5 inches in parts of Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, while most of the rest of the Corn Belt is expected to receive light or minimal precipitation.

Ukraine’s agriculture ministry estimates 2024/25 corn exports at 22 MMT, down from 29.5 MMT last year. StoneX raised Brazil’s corn production estimate to 136.1 MMT, up 2.1 MMT from their previous estimate due to an increase in the second crop. ANEC lowered its June corn export estimate for Brazil to 566,435 MT from the earlier estimate of 982,812 MT.