Corn futures closed out the initial trading session in 2025 with gains of 1 to 2 ¾ cents across the board. The national average Cash Corn price from cmdtyView was up 1 3/4 cents at $4.31 1/4. 

The delayed weekly EIA report showed a total of 1.111 million barrels per day of ethanol production in the week that ended on 12/27, a 4,000 bpd hike from the week prior. Stocks were on the rise, up 565,000 barrels to 23.639 million barrels. Ethanol exports slipped 67,000 bpd to 99,000 barrels per day, as refiner inputs of ethanol fell 61,000 bpd to 859,000 bps. 

Monthly Grain Crushing data from this afternoon showed November grind at 464.94 mbu, which was down 0.4% from last month (revised up 6 mbu) but up 1.7% from the same month last year. First quarter corn grind was up 2.29% from 2023 at 1.38 bbu. 

Export Sales data will be released on Friday morning, with the trade looking for a total of 0.8 to 1.4 MMT in 2024/25 corn bookings in the week of 12/26, with 0-50,000 MT for 2025/26 sales.

StoneX estimates the 2024/25 corn crop out of Brazil at 128.6 MMT, up 0.3 MMT from their previous estimate. 

Mar 25 Corn  closed at $4.59 1/2, up 1 cent,

Nearby Cash  was $4.31 1/4, up 1 3/4 cents,

May 25 Corn  closed at $4.67 1/4, up 1 1/2 cents,

Jul 25 Corn  closed at $4.70 1/4, up 1 1/2 cents,