CBOT · Agriculture · Futures
CBOT Corn (ZC) is the global corn benchmark: 5,000 bushels, quoted in cents per bushel, physically delivered via shipping certificates.
Live ZC chart on TradingView Affiliate link
COT data as of Sep 22, 2026 · Margins as of Sep 30, 2026 · Roll & expiry dates checked daily
| Symbol | Contract | Per 1¢ | Tick value | Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZC | Corn | $50.00 | $12.50 | This contract |
| XC | Mini-sized Corn | $10.00 | $1.25 | 1,000 bushels (1/5 of ZC) |
Source: CME Group contract specifications · reviewed Sep 30, 2026
| Contract | Roll date | First notice | Last trading day | Days left |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZCZ26 Dec 2026 Active | Tue, Nov 24, 2026 | Mon, Nov 30, 2026 | Mon, Dec 14, 2026 | 76 |
| ZCH27 Mar 2027 | Tue, Feb 23, 2027 | Fri, Feb 26, 2027 | Fri, Mar 12, 2027 | 164 |
| ZCK27 May 2027 | Tue, Apr 27, 2027 | Fri, Apr 30, 2027 | Fri, May 14, 2027 | 227 |
| ZCN27 Jul 2027 | Fri, Jun 25, 2027 | Wed, Jun 30, 2027 | Wed, Jul 14, 2027 | 288 |
| ZCU27 Sep 2027 | Thu, Aug 26, 2027 | Tue, Aug 31, 2027 | Tue, Sep 14, 2027 | 350 |
| ZCZ27 Dec 2027 | Wed, Nov 24, 2027 | Tue, Nov 30, 2027 | Tue, Dec 14, 2027 | 441 |
Roll. Speculators roll before first notice. The date shown is three business days before first notice; index funds typically roll earlier (5th–9th business day of the prior month).
First notice day. Last business day of the month before the contract month. Longs can be assigned delivery from here on – brokers usually require longs to be closed or rolled before this date.
Last trading day. Business day before the 15th calendar day of the contract month.
US exchange holidays ahead: Nov 26 · Dec 25 · Jan 1 · Jan 18 · Feb 15 · Mar 26 · May 31 · Jun 18
Learn more: Futures roll dates explained · First notice day vs. last trading day
Calculated from exchange rules and the US exchange holiday calendar. Confirm with the CME Group expiration calendar.
| Session | Eastern (ET) | Central (CT) | Your time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overnight session (Globex) | Sun–Fri 8:00 p.m. – 8:45 a.m. | Sun–Fri 7:00 p.m. – 7:45 a.m. | – |
| Day session (Globex) | Mon–Fri 9:30 a.m. – 2:20 p.m. | Mon–Fri 8:30 a.m. – 1:20 p.m. | – |
| Daily settlement | 2:15 p.m. | 1:15 p.m. | – |
Holiday hours differ – check the CME holiday calendar before trading around US holidays. ET is New York time, CT is Chicago time (always one hour behind ET).
| Contract | Maintenance |
|---|---|
| ZCZ26 Dec 2026 Active | $1,050 |
| ZCH27 Mar 2027 | $1,000 |
| ZCK27 May 2027 | $950 |
| ZCN27 Jul 2027 | $900 |
Exchange margins are the minimum your clearing firm must collect for positions held overnight. Brokers may require more – and usually offer much lower day-trading margins for positions closed before the session ends. A neutral broker day-margin comparison is coming soon.
Learn more: Futures margin explained · Micro vs. E-mini futures
−773,483 net contracts
−3,177 vs. prior week · −41.7% of OI
Movement (6 wk): −21
Producers, merchants, processors and users hedging physical business – the classic commercials. They tend to buy weakness and sell strength.
+298,672 net contracts
+5,211 vs. prior week · +16.1% of OI
Movement (6 wk): −16
Swap dealers – banks hedging OTC swaps, including commodity index money. Often structurally positioned; read against their own range, not the sign.
+404,097 net contracts
−10,363 vs. prior week · +21.8% of OI
Movement (6 wk): +31
Managed money – CTAs, commodity pools and hedge funds. Trend followers; their positioning tends to peak near turning points.
| Group | Long | Short | Net | Δ 1 wk | Δ 4 wk | Index 26 wk | Index 3 yr | Move 6 wk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Producers / Merchants | 315,323 | 1,088,806 | −773,483 | −3,177 | −52,629 | 6 | 3 | −21 |
| Swap Dealers | 334,882 | 36,210 | +298,672 | +5,211 | −47,574 | 9 | 70 | −16 |
| Managed Money | 471,466 | 67,369 | +404,097 | −10,363 | +86,649 | 98 | 99 | +31 |
| Other Reportables | 193,825 | 62,121 | +131,704 | +3,780 | +8,237 | 94 | 97 | +10 |
| Nonreportables | 130,889 | 191,879 | −60,990 | +4,549 | +5,317 | 66 | 53 | −12 |
| Group | Long | Short | Net | Δ 1 wk | Δ 4 wk | Index 26 wk | Index 3 yr | Move 6 wk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercials | 689,974 | 1,164,785 | −474,811 | +2,034 | −100,203 | 0 | 0 | −27 |
| Non-Commercials | 665,291 | 129,490 | +535,801 | −6,583 | +94,886 | 99 | 99 | +30 |
| Nonreportables (small) | 130,889 | 191,879 | −60,990 | +4,549 | +5,317 | 66 | 53 | −12 |
| Report date | Producers / Merchants | Swap Dealers | Managed Money | Other Reportables | Nonreportables | Open interest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 22, 2026 | −773,483 | +298,672 | +404,097 | +131,704 | −60,990 | 1,854,505 |
| Sep 15, 2026 | −770,306 | +293,461 | +414,460 | +127,924 | −65,539 | 1,843,824 |
| Sep 8, 2026 | −780,916 | +310,311 | +414,459 | +128,540 | −72,394 | 1,803,323 |
| Sep 1, 2026 | −800,143 | +323,322 | +401,003 | +135,740 | −59,922 | 1,764,182 |
| Aug 25, 2026 | −720,854 | +346,246 | +317,448 | +123,467 | −66,307 | 1,707,706 |
| Aug 18, 2026 | −589,440 | +343,840 | +181,692 | +120,450 | −56,542 | 1,728,003 |
| Aug 11, 2026 | −525,668 | +327,540 | +125,875 | +119,037 | −46,784 | 1,684,065 |
| Aug 4, 2026 | −536,199 | +327,854 | +144,821 | +110,247 | −46,723 | 1,762,573 |
| Jul 28, 2026 | −545,405 | +341,474 | +126,776 | +127,544 | −50,389 | 1,736,827 |
| Jul 21, 2026 | −479,260 | +340,006 | +56,713 | +129,937 | −47,396 | 1,742,139 |
| Jul 14, 2026 | −417,100 | +322,124 | +11,361 | +120,102 | −36,487 | 1,707,063 |
| Jul 7, 2026 | −395,078 | +327,424 | −14,999 | +115,979 | −33,326 | 1,711,613 |
Learn more: How to read the COT report · COT overview of all contracts
Source: CFTC Public Reporting Environment · contract market code 002602 (CORN - CHICAGO BOARD OF TRADE)
Learn more: Tick value and point value explained
Before commissions and exchange fees. Prices round to the nearest tick of 0.25.
One tick is 1/4 cent per bushel, worth $12.50 per contract. A 1-cent move is worth $50.
The last business day of the month before the contract month. Speculators close or roll long positions before then.
Corn trades on CME Globex Sunday to Friday 8:00 p.m. – 8:45 a.m. ET and Monday to Friday 9:30 a.m. – 2:20 p.m. ET (7:00 p.m. – 7:45 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. – 1:20 p.m. CT).
The COT Index places a group's current net position within its own range over a lookback window: 100 = the most net long in that window, 0 = the most net short. It measures positioning extremes, not timing.