Corn Rallies to Start the Week on US/China Trade Details

Austin Schroeder

Mon, May 18, 2026 at 6:25 PM EDT 2 min read

Corn futures were in rally mode on Monday, as contracts closed 14 ½ to 21 ¼ cents higher across most 26/27 contracts.  The CmdtyView national average Cash Corn price was back up 21 1/4 cents to $4.37 1/2.

NASS Crop Progress data showed the US corn crop at 76% planted as of Sunday, which was 6% ahead of the 5-year average pace of 70%. The crop was also 39% emerged, which is 2 percentage points faster than normal.

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Monday morning’s Export Inspections report showed 1.379 MMT (54.28 mbu) of corn shipped in the week of 5/14. That was 19.07% below last week and 21.68% shy of the same week last year. Japan was the largest destination of 440,975 MT, with 377,217 MT shipped to Mexico and 84,814 MT to Taiwan. The marketing year total is now 58.57 MMT (2.306 bbu) of corn shipped since September 1, which is 28.5% above the same period last year.

On Sunday, the White House released a fact sheet on the US/China talks from last week, in part stating that “China will purchase at least $17 billion per year of U.S. agricultural products in 2026 (prorated), 2027, and 2028, in addition to the soybean purchase commitments that it made in October 2025.”

Jul 26 Corn  closed at $4.77, up 21 1/4 cents,

Nearby Cash  was $4.37 1/2, up 21 1/4 cents,

Sep 26 Corn  closed at $4.82 1/4, up 19 1/4 cents,

Dec 26 Corn  closed at $4.98, up 17 cents,

New Crop Cash  was $4.51 3/8, up 18 3/4 cents,

On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Barchart.com