CME Group's Corn Futures Set New Daily Volume Record After USDA Raised Outlook

Third-quarter Corn futures and options average daily volumes both grew more than 30% year over year.

Rhea-AI Summary

CME Group (CME) set a daily Corn futures volume record of 1,206,376 contracts on October 9, 2026. That surpassed the previous record of 1,128,597 contracts on March 29, 2019. The company linked the trading activity to a USDA report showing ending stocks, yields and production above market expectations.

Agriculture average daily volume reached 2,022,488 contracts in the third quarter, up 18.1% year over year. September average daily volume was 1,936,761 contracts, up 28.8%. Third-quarter Corn futures average daily volume rose 35.2% year over year to 502,004 contracts, while Corn options averaged 179,674 contracts daily, up 31.4% year over year.

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Rhea-AI gives every point it takes from this document a weight. Minor counts 1, Moderate 3 and Major 9, so one Major point outweighs several Minor ones. The bar adds up the weights on each side, and when neither side holds more than 65% of the total the balance reads Mixed.

It reads the document as published, with the same rules for every company, and it does not look at what the market expected or at how the stock traded, so a point can be objectively good on a day the stock falls.

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0 major · 0 points

How the balance works

Positive

• Moderate pointAgriculture third-quarter average daily volume rose 18.1% year over year to 2,022,488 contracts.
• Minor pointCorn futures daily volume reached a record 1,206,376 contracts October 9, exceeding 1,128,597 on March 29, 2019.
• Minor pointAgriculture September average daily volume rose 28.8% year over year to 1,936,761 contracts.
• Minor pointCorn futures third-quarter average daily volume rose 35.2% year over year to 502,004 contracts.
• Minor pointCorn options third-quarter average daily volume rose 31.4% year over year to 179,674 contracts.

Negative

• None.

Key Figures

Corn futures daily volume record: 1,206,376 contracts (previous record: 1,128,597 contracts) Agriculture Q3 average daily volume: 2,022,488 contracts; up 18.1% year over year September average daily volume: 1,936,761 contracts; up 28.8% year over year +2 more

Corn futures daily volume record

1,206,376 contracts (previous record: 1,128,597 contracts)

New record on October 9; prior record set March 29, 2019

Agriculture Q3 average daily volume

2,022,488 contracts; up 18.1% year over year

CME Group agriculture business, third quarter

September average daily volume

1,936,761 contracts; up 28.8% year over year

CME Group, September

Corn futures Q3 average daily volume

502,004 contracts; up 35.2% year over year

Third quarter

Corn options Q3 average daily volume

179,674 contracts; up 31.4% year over year

Third quarter

Historical Context

2 past events · Latest: Oct 08

2 events

1. Oct 08

   International volume growth

   24h Move

   +2.3%

   International ADV rose 22% year over year; agricultural products increased 28%.

2. Oct 02

   Q3 volume report

   24h Move

   -0.7%

   Q3 ADV reached 29.4 million contracts, up 16% year over year; agriculture set records.

24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.

Key Terms

ending stocks, average daily volume, otc, central counterparty clearing

4 terms

ending stocks technical

"the report showed ending stocks, yields and production all above expectations"

The quantity of a commodity, product, or inventory remaining at the end of a reporting period. It is calculated from the opening (beginning) stocks plus additions (production, purchases, imports) minus removals (sales, consumption, exports, adjustments) and can be expressed as a physical volume/weight or a dollar value; in commodity markets it is often used with the stocks-to-use ratio to judge supply tightness. Ending stocks do not automatically equal what is immediately marketable, because some inventory may be reserved, quality-restricted, or otherwise unavailable for sale.

average daily volume financial

"reached an average daily volume of 2,022,488 contracts"

Average daily volume is the typical number of shares or contracts of a security traded each day, calculated by averaging daily trading amounts over a recent period. It matters to investors because it indicates how easy it is to buy or sell without moving the price—like traffic on a road: high volume is a busy freeway that lets many cars pass smoothly, while low volume can make large orders cause big price changes and higher costs.

View in glossary

otc financial

"clients to trade futures, options, cash and OTC markets"

OTC stands for "over-the-counter" and describes securities that trade directly between dealers or via dealer networks rather than on a formal stock exchange. It matters to investors because OTC listings typically have fewer reporting rules and lower trading volume, which can mean higher price swings, limited liquidity, and greater difficulty buying or selling shares—similar to shopping at a small flea market instead of a large, regulated supermarket.

View in glossary

central counterparty clearing technical

"one of the world's leading central counterparty clearing providers"

A central counterparty clearing (CCP) is a specialized financial intermediary that sits between buyers and sellers of securities or derivatives, becoming the buyer to every seller and the seller to every buyer to guarantee trades are completed. Like an insurance-backed referee, it manages the risk of someone failing to pay by requiring collateral, pooling resources, and simplifying many trades into smaller net payments, which helps investors by lowering the chance of loss from a counterparty default and improving market stability and liquidity.

AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.

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CHICAGO, Oct. 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, today announced that its Corn futures reached a new daily volume record of 1,206,376 contracts on October 9, surpassing the previous record of 1,128,597 contracts traded on March 29, 2019.

"Following last week's surprise USDA report, market participants turned to our Corn futures to quickly adjust positions and manage price risk," said John Ricci, Global Head of Agricultural Products. "The market had priced in lower yields after a challenging summer, yet the report showed ending stocks, yields and production all above expectations. The changing conditions are another example of why we remain focused on equipping clients to manage their risk in any market environment."

CME Group's agriculture business reached an average daily volume of 2,022,488 contracts in the third quarter, up 18.1% year over year. In September, average daily volume reached 1,936,761 contracts, up 28.8% year over year.

In addition, Corn futures reached an average daily volume of 502,004 in the third quarter, up 35.2% year over year, and Corn options reached an average daily volume of 179,674, up 31.4% year over year. 

For more information on CME Group Corn futures, please visit here. 

As the world's leading derivatives marketplace, CME Group (www.cmegroup.com) enables clients to trade futures, options, cash and OTC markets, optimize portfolios, and analyze data – empowering market participants worldwide to efficiently manage risk and capture opportunities. CME Group exchanges offer the widest range of global benchmark products across all major asset classes based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, cryptocurrencies, energy, agricultural products and metals.  The company offers futures and options on futures trading through the CME Globex platform, fixed income trading via BrokerTec and foreign exchange trading on the EBS platform.  In addition, it operates one of the world's leading central counterparty clearing providers, CME Clearing. 

CME Group, the Globe logo, CME, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Globex, and E-mini are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc.  CBOT and Chicago Board of Trade are trademarks of Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Inc.  NYMEX, New York Mercantile Exchange and ClearPort are trademarks of New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc.  COMEX is a trademark of Commodity Exchange, Inc. BrokerTec is a trademark of BrokerTec Americas LLC and EBS is a trademark of EBS Group LTD. The S&P 500 Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC ("S&P DJI"). "S&P®", "S&P 500®", "SPY®", "SPX®", US 500 and The 500 are trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC; Dow Jones®, DJIA® and Dow Jones Industrial Average are service and/or trademarks of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. These trademarks have been licensed for use by Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. Futures contracts based on the S&P 500 Index are not sponsored, endorsed, marketed, or promoted by S&P DJI, and S&P DJI makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in such products. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 

CME-G

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cme-groups-corn-futures-set-new-daily-volume-record-after-usda-raised-outlook-302906207.html

SOURCE CME Group

FAQ

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What daily volume record did CME Group Corn futures set on October 9, 2026?

CME Group Corn futures traded a record 1,206,376 contracts on October 9, 2026. The previous daily record was 1,128,597 contracts, set on March 29, 2019.