Corn was sliding lower on Monday with most contracts dropping 3 to 4 cents, while March futures took a bigger hit at 6 cents down. The cash price moved up slightly to $4.03 3/4 per bushel, showing some support despite the weakness in futures.

Export activity last week hit 1.858 million metric tons, which sounds solid until you check the details. That's actually down 8% week-over-week, though it's still ranking as the third best week of the year. Mexico was taking the most corn at over 521k metric tons, with South Korea and Japan also grabbing significant volumes. Year-to-date shipments are up 42% compared to last year, so there's definitely demand out there.

The real concern showing up in the data is Brazil's harvest progress. Their first crop is only 36% done, way behind the 46% pace from last year. The second crop planting is also lagging at 66% in the center-south region versus 80% last year. Different forecasters are tweaking their Brazilian production estimates down slightly, with some cutting numbers and others making minor adjustments upward, but the overall trend suggests tighter supplies ahead.

Looking at the contract prices, March corn closed at $4.32 3/4 down 6 cents, May was at $4.44 3/4 off 3 3/4 cents, and July settled at $4.53 down 3 cents. Managed money traders were also reducing their short positions, cutting over 13,500 contracts in recent weeks. The grain crush numbers coming this afternoon could give the market some direction, with traders expecting a January grind around 483 million bushels.