“Prices closed $.02-$.04 higher, drifing back a bit into the close while spreads eased. With spot futures jumping out to a 3-year high this week, next resistance is the 38% retracement on the weekly chart at $5.38. After taking a break from heavy buying yesterday, speculative traders were back in a buying mood today. We had the speculative long position at 395k after yesterday’s trade vs. the record long position of 429k from back in Oct-2010. The BAGE held their Argentine production forecast unchanged at 64 mmt, vs. USDA 63 mmt, while reporting harvest progress advanced to 88%. Safras & Mercado raised their 2026/27 Brazilian production forecast slightly to 145.6 mmt, well above the USDA forecast of 139 mmt. The European Commission lowered their EU corn production forecast to 50.1 mmt, the lowest in nearly 20 years while down 17% YOY. They also raised their import forecast 1 mmt, to 25 mmt, this being made more difficult as historically 50-60% of their corn imports have come from Ukraine. Corn ratings in France slipped to only 28% G/E, vs. 62% YA. Expectations for lower U.S. production and higher usage leaving U.S. and global stocks much tighter than current USDA forecasts continue to fuel the higher trade,” wrote Mark Soderberg with ADM Investor Services.