U.S. Grains, Soybeans Rise Ahead of USDA Report

Prices for the oilseeds earlier in the week fell to the lowest levels in more than a week amid fears that a stumbling stock market in China, the world’s largest buyer of the oilseeds, would slow demand for USA supplies of the crop. The front-month Chicago Board of Trade corn futures contract surged to its highest since June 30, 2014.

Trade estimates on average point to the U.S. Department of Agriculture cutting its production and stocks forecasts for corn and soybeans in its monthly supply and demand report at 1600 GMT on Friday. The government raised its estimate of both soybean exports and crush by 15 million bushels.

Corn prices also climbed due in part to anticipation the USDA in its Friday report will lower its outlook for this year’s corn harvest as excess moisture floods fields and drains nutrients from the soil.

In France, farm office FranceAgriMer forecast a soft wheat crop of 37.9 million tonnes, up 1 percent from 2014 and in line with a farm ministry estimate earlier this week.

“The bean carryout at 255 (million bushels) in the old crop is supportive”, said Jim Gerlach, president of A/C Trading. The U.S.D.A. projected 2015 corn production at 13,530 million bus, down 100 million bus from its June projection based on harvested area of 81.1 million acres, down 600,000 acres from June, and average yield of 166.8 bus an acre, unchanged from June.

The USDA 2016 corn carryover number was above the trade average of 1.508 billion bushels. New-crop December corn rose 6 cents to $4.45 after reaching a one-year high of $4.49.

Domestic soybean ending stocks for 2015/16 were pegged at 425 million bushels, down from 475 million a month ago.

Its US forecast for hard red winter wheat, the type most commonly grown in Kansas, is down 2 percent to 866 million bushels.