USDA reported a private export sale of 177,055 metric tons of corn to Mexico this morning.

According to EIA data, corn use for ethanol reached another record level in the week ending December 12. Ethanol production rose week-on-week by 26,000 barrels per day to 1.131 million barrels per day. Despite the higher production, ethanol stocks declined by 157,000 barrels to 22.353 million barrels. This was driven by an increase in ethanol exports by 66,000 barrels per day to 191,000 barrels per day, while refiner ethanol inputs also rose by 55,000 barrels per day from the previous week to 906,000 barrels per day.

According to Commitment of Traders data, now reflecting positions as of December 2, speculative funds added back 34,142 contracts to the long side during that week, mainly due to short covering. This flipped their net position in corn futures and options to a net long of 23,270 contracts.

A South Korean importer purchased a total of 268,000 metric tons of corn in an overnight tender. According to ANEC, Brazil’s corn exports for December are estimated at 6.35 million metric tons, up 0.05 MMT from the previous week’s estimate.