United States corn carryover projected down 10 percent | MEAT+POULTRY

Funds sold an estimated 5,000 wheat contracts.

Total USA wheat production was pegged at 2.148 billion bushels, matching forecasts.

WASHINGTON, July 10 (Reuters) – The US Agriculture Department on Friday cut its outlook for the supply of corn and soybeans that will be left over at the end of The 2014/15 marketing year by more than expected, sending futures prices sharply higher.

If realized, this year’s Kansas winter wheat will be a vast improvement over last year’s drought-plagued crop of 246.4 million bushels. The U.S.D.A. 2016 wheat carryover number was below the average trade expectation of 855 million bus.

Old-crop corn ending stocks were cut to 1.779 billion bushels from 1.876 billion due to increased demand from the export and feed sector.

United States soybean carryover on September 1, 2016, was projected at 425 million bushels, down 11 percent from 475 million bushels as the June forecast and compared with 255 million bushels forecast for September 1, 2015.

August soybeans added 5-3/4 cents to close at $10.32 a bushel after hitting $10.48-1/4, the highest price since the market touched a six-month high last week. The U.S.D.A.

Trade estimates on average point to the cutting its production and stocks forecasts for corn and soybeans in its monthly supply and demand report at 1600 GMT on Friday. Soybean production in 2015 was projected at 3,885 million bus, up 35 million bus from the June projection based on harvested area of 84.4 million acres, up 700,000 acres from June, and average yield of 46 bus an acre, unchanged from June.

“The focus should be entirely on the old crop on this report and, with that, the stocks for corn and soybeans were smaller than expected”, said Rich Nelson, chief strategist for brokerage Allendale in Illinois.