Prices of maize were steady in the key spot market of Davanagere, Karnataka, due to weak demand and thin supply. The crop was sold at 1800-1950 rupees per 100 kg in the Davanagere market. Arrivals are pegged at 3,000-4,000 bags (1 bag = 100 kg), down from 8,000-10,000 bags.

Bulk demand was weak as the arrivals are of poor quality with high moisture content. The crop that is arriving is with a moisture content of 20-22% against the acceptable limit of 14-15%.

Corn climbed 5 3/4 to 6 cents on Thursday, but Dec futures were plus 10 3/4 at midday, The USDA announced private export sales of 110,744 MT of corn to unknown for 19/20 and 1.6 MMT (63 million bushels) of corn to Mexico this morning (1.074 MMT for 19/20 delivery and 525k MT for 20/21 delivery). Export bookings for the week ending 12/05 were above what traders had anticipated with the USDA reporting 873,525 MT.

Shipments through the same week were 531,371 MT, which was 7.4% above Thanksgiving week, but still 44.19% below the same week last year. Accumulated shipments hit 6.876 MMT through the first 14 weeks of the MY.Ethanol production has averaged 1.008m bpd over the previous 10 weeks, but the new (including this recent data) 10-week average has increased by 12k barrels per day. Ethanol Stocks increased by the most in one week since June 28.