The Hightower Report said, “The corn market ended slightly higher, supported by strong demand this week, but pressured by a rally in the U.S. dollar over the last couple of sessions.” Chad Pater at CHS Hedging said, “The weekly drought monitor shows corn areas in drought expanded by one percent to 26% this week.” John Heinberg at Total Farm Marketing said, “Weekly export sales were strong again this week. For the week ending September 18, USDA recorded net sales of 1.923 MMT (75.7 mb). This total exceeded expectations, with Mexico once again the largest buyer of U.S. corn. With this pace, 2025–26 has marked the strongest start to export sales in modern recordkeeping history, surpassing the 2018–19 marketing year.”