Corn futures closed the Tuesday session with the weakness continuing, as contracts were down 2 ½ to 6 cents across the board, led by the new crop months. The CmdtyView national average Cash Corn price was down 3 ¼ cents at $4.04 ½.
NASS Crop Progress data showed 93% of the US corn crop planted as of May 31, 1 percentage point ahead of normal. Emergence was at 76% of the expected area, 2% faster than normal. The initial corn crop rating came in a 67% good/excellent, coming in below the 70% estimate from a Reuters survey of analysts and 2% below the year prior. That was a 371 rating on the Brugler500 index (100-500 point scale of the 5 USDA categories), which was a 3-year low and the third lowest initial rating in the last 13 years. The lower end of ratings came in at 340 for Ohio, with Iowa ratings at 399.
