In the USDA Export Sales update released this morning for the week ending 12/11, corn sales were reported at 1.74 MMT, near the upper end of analysts’ estimates of 0.9–1.8 MMT. This figure was 17.9% higher than the data released on Monday for the previous week and 48.5% above the same week last year. Total export sales commitments, which are now nearly fully caught up following the government shutdown, have reached 47.58 MMT (1.873 billion bushels), up 31% from the same period last year.

According to the CFTC’s Commitment of Traders report for the week ending last Tuesday, spec traders in corn futures and options flipped back to a net long position of 52,672 contracts. During that week, there was a move of 62,390 contracts to the short side, reflecting a mix of new shorts and reduced long positions.

EIA data, which is normally released on Wednesday, has been delayed until Monday due to the government holiday from December 24–26.