Corn futures climbed during Thursday trading on the Chicago Board of Trade, supported by improved export activity after the December contract held the key $4.00 level on Wednesday.

Contracts gained between 5 and 6.25 cents in mid-session, while the national average cash corn price on the CmdtyView platform rose by 5.75 cents to $3.6825 per bushel.

The US Department of Agriculture announced two private export sales: 106,680 metric tons of corn to Mexico and 105,000 metric tons to Guatemala, both scheduled for delivery in the 2025/2026 marketing year.

Export sales data showed 170,428 metric tons of old-crop corn sold, marking the second-lowest level of the season and falling short of expectations that ranged from 200,000 to 400,000 metric tons for the week ending July 31. However, new-crop sales exceeded forecasts of 1.3 to 2.5 million metric tons, reaching 3.16 million metric tons. This brought total sales for the 2025/2026 season to 11.777 million tons, the second-highest weekly level for this time of year since 2021/2022, which was driven by strong Chinese demand.

Meanwhile, Brazil exported 2.434 million metric tons of corn in July, down 31.51% from the same period last year, though still higher than June’s total. The decline was attributed to a slower second-crop harvest and the continued prioritization of soybean shipments in shipping schedules.

Corn

At the close, December corn futures rose 1.4% to $4.07 per bushel.

Soybeans

November soybean futures gained 1% to $9.93 per bushel.

Wheat

September wheat futures climbed 1.9% to $5.18 per bushel.

Ethereum has recently pulled back from the $3,900 level but is showing signs of resilience, as on-chain data reveals growing exchange outflows. This is typically seen as a bullish signal, suggesting that investors are withdrawing their ETH holdings with the intention of long-term storage.

Current price analysis indicates that as long as Ethereum holds above the $3,600 support zone, the bullish trend remains intact, with a near-term target around $4,000.

Ethereum’s underlying fundamentals also remain strong. Its Layer-2 ecosystem continues to expand, staking activity is on the rise, and institutional inflows are gradually increasing. Combined with technical patterns showing higher lows and confirmation from the Relative Strength Index (RSI), the overall outlook for Ethereum remains optimistic.

However, despite its strength, Ethereum is a well-established asset in the market. While its upside is real, it may be limited compared to smaller-cap altcoins. For investors seeking the fastest-growing cryptocurrencies of 2025, Ethereum is a solid long-term hold but may not offer the highest returns. This opens the door for other emerging assets to present more attractive short-term opportunities.

Meanwhile, President Trump announced late Wednesday the imposition of a 100% tariff on imported semiconductors, with exemptions for companies manufacturing within the United States.

“We will impose very large tariffs on chips and semiconductors,” Trump said Wednesday. “But the good news for companies like Apple is: if you manufacture in the United States or are fully committed to doing so, you won’t face any tariffs.”

Ethereum 

As of 21:15 GMT, Ethereum surged 5% on CoinMarketCap to trade at $3,857.8.

The New Zealand dollar rose on Thursday against most major currencies following the release of economic data.

Government data published earlier today showed that New Zealand’s quarterly inflation expectations for Q3 2025 came in at 2.28%, slightly down from the previous reading of 2.29%.

As of 21:00 GMT, the New Zealand dollar climbed 0.5% against the US dollar to trade at 0.5959.

Australian Dollar

The Australian dollar also advanced against its US counterpart, rising 0.2% to 0.6518 as of 21:00 GMT.

US Dollar

The US dollar index was flat at 98.1 as of 20:44 GMT, after hitting a high of 98.4 and a low of 97.9 earlier in the session.

On the policy front, President Trump announced late Wednesday the imposition of a 100% tariff on imported semiconductors, with an exemption for companies that "manufacture within the United States."

“We will impose very large tariffs on chips and semiconductors,” Trump said Wednesday. “But the good news for companies like Apple is: if you manufacture in the United States or commit without a doubt to manufacturing in the US, you won’t face any tariffs.”

Meanwhile, government data showed that seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims in the US rose to 226,000 for the week ending August 2, up by 7,000 from the previous week and above analyst expectations of 221,000.

Kuwait’s Oil Minister Tareq Al-Rumi said on Thursday that the country expects oil prices to stay below $72 per barrel in the near future, as one of OPEC’s top producers continues to assess market conditions.

Brent crude was trading around $67 per barrel on Thursday morning.

Al-Rumi added that Kuwait, alongside OPEC, is closely monitoring the market as well as statements coming from US President Donald Trump and his administration.

“We are monitoring the market through OPEC, in terms of supply and demand, and we’re watching President Trump’s remarks,” the minister told Reuters.

He pointed to two recent statements and actions from Trump that could serve as strong catalysts for upcoming oil market moves — either upward or downward.

On Wednesday, President Trump stated that “significant progress” had been made during a “highly productive meeting” between his special envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

At the same time, however, Trump signed an executive order imposing an additional 25% tariff on Indian imports, clearly targeting New Delhi’s continued purchase of Russian crude oil. The move raises total US tariffs on Indian exports to 50%, the highest rate currently applied by Washington to any country.

The new 50% tariffs are scheduled to take effect 21 days after August 6.

Al-Rumi said Kuwait and OPEC are keeping a close eye on all these developments. According to Kuwait, the oil market remains healthy, with demand growing at a “moderate” pace.

In a related statement, Sheikh Nawaf Al-Sabah, CEO of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), told Reuters and a group of journalists that Kuwait is currently producing 2.548 million barrels per day, in line with its current OPEC+ quota.

“Our production capacity is much higher than that, and we deploy it when needed,” the Kuwaiti executive added.

Next month, the OPEC+ alliance is set to conclude the final phase of its largest-ever production cut, after agreeing over the weekend to raise output by 547,000 barrels per day in September.

The final layer of cuts — totaling 1.66 million barrels per day — is still in place through late 2026, unless OPEC+ decides market conditions justify releasing additional supply sooner.