Corn Extending Rally to Monday’s Midday on US/China Trade Details

Austin Schroeder

Mon, May 18, 2026 at 1:28 PM EDT 1 min read

Corn futures are trading with contracts 14 to 18 cents higher across most nearbys at midday.  The CmdtyView national average Cash Corn price is back up 19 3/4 cents to $4.35.

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.

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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.”

The weekly CFTC update from Friday showed managed money paring back their net long by 44,442 contracts in the week ending on 5/12. That took their net long position in corn futures and options to 299,483 contracts.

Sep 26 Corn is at $4.81, up 18 cents,

Nearby Cash is at $4.35, up 19 3/4 cents,

Dec 26 Corn is at $4.96 1/4, up 15 1/4 cents,

Mar 27 Corn is at $5.09 3/4, up 14 1/4 cents,

New Crop Cash is at $4.50 3/4, up 17 1/4 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