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Corn COT — Week of September 25, 2026

Corn COT Report — Week Ended September 25, 2026

Executive summary

The CFTC Disaggregated Commitments of Traders report for Chicago Board of Trade Corn (ZC) futures as of September 25, 2026, shows speculative positioning consolidating near cyclical highs after an aggressive summer buildup.

  • Managed Money Net Position: Net long of +404,097 contracts, a slight retreat (-10,363 contracts WoW) from the prior week's +414,460 peak.
  • Commercial Net Position: Net short of -773,483 contracts, reflecting persistent producer hedging into the elevated price environment.
  • Open Interest: Total open interest expanded by +10,681 contracts WoW to 1,854,505, maintaining elevated participation across commercial and speculative participants.
  • Price Alignment: Front-month futures closed the reporting week at $5.28 3/4 per bushel ($528.75/bu), consolidating just below the September 1 cycle high of $5.45 1/2 ($545.50/bu).

Positioning (net, extremes vs recent weeks)

Managed money maintains an exceptionally bullish posture compared to early 2026, though weekly momentum has begun to plateau.

Trader Category Gross Long Gross Short Spreading Net Position Prior Week Net 52-Wk Regime Context
Managed Money 471,466 67,369 265,480 +404,097 +414,460 Near upper extreme (vs -90.7k net short in Jan)
Producer/Merchant 315,323 1,088,806 — -773,483 -770,306 Near peak short hedge expansion
Swap Dealers 334,882 36,210 39,769 +298,672 +293,461 Stable net-long structural index allocation
Other Reportables 193,825 62,121 102,871 +131,704 +127,924 Steady net long posture
Non-Reportable 130,889 191,879 — -60,990 -65,539 Modestly net short

Position Extremes

  • Managed Money: The net long of +404,097 contracts sits close to the peak recorded during the September 11–18 stretch (+414,459 to +414,460). This contrasts sharply with early 2026, when funds held net shorts exceeding -90,000 contracts (e.g., -90,658 on January 16, 2026).
  • Speculative Concentration: Managed money accounts for 25.4% of total gross long open interest and only 3.6% of gross short open interest.

Flows and week-over-week changes

Position adjustments for the week ending September 25, 2026, reflected mild long liquidation and spreading additions among momentum traders:

  • Managed Money Flows:
    • Gross longs fell by -12,272 contracts.
    • Gross shorts fell by -1,909 contracts.
    • Spreading positions jumped by +22,586 contracts to 265,480 (14.3% of total open interest).
    • Net change: -10,363 contracts.
  • Commercial Flows:
    • Producer/Merchant longs declined by -12,301 contracts.
    • Producer/Merchant shorts declined by -9,124 contracts.
    • Net change: -3,177 contracts.
  • Swap Dealer Flows:
    • Gross longs increased by +6,066 contracts against a minor +855 short addition, lifting net swap length by +5,211 contracts to +298,672.

Commercials vs speculators

Managed Money Net:  [========================+404k=======================>]
Swap Dealers Net:   [===================+299k=================>]
Other Reportable:   [========+132k=====>]
Non-Reportable:     [<- -61k-]
Producer/Merchant:  [<================================-773k===============================]
  • Producer/Merchant Short Hedging: Commercial entities continue to dominate the short side, holding 1,088,806 short contracts (58.7% of total open interest). While shorts contracted by 9,124 contracts WoW, commercial hedging has expanded massively since early 2026 (where short exposure was ~630k contracts in December 2025) as producers locked in margins on rallies above $5.00/bu.
  • Speculative Counterparty Dynamic: Managed money gross longs (471,466) combined with swap dealer longs (334,882) and other reportable longs (193,825) provide the necessary liquidity absorbing heavy commercial farmer selling and elevator hedge volumes.

Open interest and participation

  • Total Open Interest: Advanced by +10,681 contracts WoW to 1,854,505. Total open interest remains near the seasonal highs established in mid-2026 (peaking above 1.95M in late June).
  • Trader Breadth:
    • Total active reporting traders stood at 886 (down slightly from 894 in the prior week).
    • Managed money long trader count decreased from 120 to 115, while short trader count rose from 41 to 43.
    • Producer/Merchant short participants remain broad at 375 distinct entities (vs. 270 longs).
  • Concentration Ratios:
    • Top 4 Traders: Account for 9.2% of net long open interest and 9.8% of net short open interest (gross: 9.5% long / 11.8% short).
    • Top 8 Traders: Account for 16.0% of net long open interest and 16.7% of net short open interest (gross: 17.4% long / 19.5% short).
    • Concentration metrics indicate a well-distributed market without outsized dominance by a single fund or trade desk.

Price context

Price (CBOT Corn Front Month Close, ¢/bu)
550 |                                      * (Sep 1: 545.50)
525 |                                    /   \___* (Sep 25: 528.75)
500 |                   * (May 1: 498.25)
475 |       * (Mar 20) /                 \__* (Jul 24: 487.25)
450 |      / \________/                     \
425 | *___/ (Jan 14: 445.25)                 * (Jun 29: 428.75)
    +-------------------------------------------------------------
      Dec '25   Feb '26   Apr '26   Jun '26   Aug '26   Sep '26
  • Current Settlement: Front contract closed at 528.75 ¢/bu ($5.28 3/4) on September 25, 2026, slightly up from the mid-week low of 526.50 ¢/bu on September 24.
  • Trend & Co-movement:
    • The massive speculative buying wave between early August (Managed Money net long ~+145k contracts on Aug 7) and late August (+317k contracts on Aug 28) drove a rally from $4.61 1/2 to above $5.36/bu.
    • Over September, as managed money net length stabilized around +404k to +414k contracts, prices entered a sideways consolidation range between $5.26 and $5.45/bu.

Risks and watchpoints

  1. Crowded Speculative Long Exposure: With managed money holding over 471k gross long contracts versus only 67k short contracts (a long-to-short ratio exceeding 7:1), the market is vulnerable to aggressive long-liquidation cascades if technical support around the $5.20–$5.25/bu area fails.
  2. Elevated Spreading Positions: Managed money spreading increased by 22,586 contracts WoW to 265,480 contracts, indicating that speculative capital is increasingly trading calendar spreads and roll dynamics rather than adding fresh directional beta.
  3. Commercial Hedge Pressure: Commercials remain heavily net short (-773k contracts). Any macroeconomic or seasonal harvest flow pressure that dampens speculative buying could allow commercial hedging weight to pressure front-month prices lower.