Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Corn, soy prices drop on higher harvest estimates

The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast that corn and soybean harvests are will exceed earlier expectations, which sent prices of the crops falling. The USDA predicted that the 2015-16 soybean harvest would be 3.916 billion bushels, an average of 46.9 bushels per acre, and "both figures were above the government's previous forecasts and topped the high end of the range of market estimates," reports Reuters, published on CNBC.
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After the report came out, corn and soybean futures dropped. Dennis Gartman, author of the Gartman Letter, said the report was shocking and that the "bean and corn numbers are stunningly bearish."

Eight states were predicted to have record soybean yields, while yields were predicted to fall in Illinois. "Corn production was seen at a 13.686 billion bushels, with average yield projected at 168.8 bushels per acre," Reuters reports. "The corn yield outlook topped the range of market estimates. Harvested soybean acres were seen at a record 83.549 million acres, lower than the USDA's previous outlook." Ending stocks for domestic soybean in 2015-16 were 470 million bushels, a 45 million bushel increase from the government's July estimate.

The USDA projected 2015-16 domestic ending stocks for corn at 1.713 billion bushels, "up from 1.599 billion in July and above the high end of trade forecasts," Reuters reports. Also, the USDA raised its estimate of ending stock for wheat, which has been harvested, from 842 million bushels to 850 million. (Read more)

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