“Prices were $.01-$.03 lower in choppy 2-sided trade while spreads weakened. Dec-26 futures did carve out a new contract high for a fourth consecutive session. O.I. increased 20k contracts in yesterday’s trade. Corn used for ethanol production in July-26 reached 475 mil. bu. up 3.7% YOY. YTD usage for the 25/26 MY has reached 5.068 bil. bu. requiring Aug-26 usage to reach 482 mil. bu. vs. 463 mil. YA to reach the USDA est. of 5.550 bil. bu. Weekly data from EIA showed production slipped 326 mil. gallons last week, down from 327 mil. the previous week, however, up 3.3% YOY. There was 109 mil. bu. of corn used in the production process, or 15.57 mil. bu. per day, taking usage to 5.502 bil. Stocks fell to 25.0 mil. barrels, still well above YA at 22.6. Surging corn prices have cut into processing margins in recent weeks,” wrote Mark Soderberg with ADM Investor Services.