October 13, 2011

 

USDA cuts corn production forecast

 

 

An estimate for the US corn crop for the third straight month has been cut by federal forecasters.

 

The USDA, in a monthly crop report released Wednesday (Oct 12), said farmers will produce 12.433 billion bushels of corn this year, down from the 12.497 billion bushels the government predicted a month ago. The harvest will still be large by historical standards but down slightly from last year.

 

The forecast for inventories left over at the end of August 2012, the end of the crop's marketing year, increased more than anticipated to 866 million bushels from 672 million last month. The increase was expected after the government said two weeks ago farmers and grain elevators had more grain than expected in storage. Still, supplies will remain at their lowest level since the mid 1990s, keeping grain users on edge.

 

Jack Scoville, vice president of Price Futures Group in Chicago said that at the end of the day, 866 million bushels isn't blowing anybody's socks off.

 

The USDA in the monthly report also had a dimmer outlook for the soy crop. Forecasters surprised traders by lowering the prediction for the upcoming crop to 3.06 billion bushels from 3.085 billion in September. The USDA increased its outlook for domestic wheat supplies, bucking expectations for a slight cut in inventories.

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