USDA Reports
USDA’s May WASDE report sent corn and soybean prices higher, it also caused wheat to soar. However, one analyst questions why the trade viewed the latest report as so bullish.
Corn and soybeans have been under pressure the last few sessions, bringing prices back near some pivotal price points ahead of today’s WASDE report.
Lance Honig, acting director of the NASS methodology division, says budget constraints led to the agency’s decision. The County Estimates data was used over the years, in part, to determine federal farm program payments.
USDA’s April WASDE report showed larger wheat and soybean ending stocks, but smaller ending stocks for corn. More surprising, still, was the lack of changes to South America’s crop estimates.
Jon Scheve discusses highlights from the USDA report and trends of where prices have gone after this report in past years.
Jerry Gulke, president of The Gulke Group, says even though the quarterly stocks number for corn came in below the trade guess, he thinks it is more bullish than it looks on the surface due to hidden corn disappearance.
The March Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor found nearly 80% of those surveyed say soybeans pencils better than corn this year, but economists still increased their corn acreage projections slightly in the latest survey.
With the exception of Chicago wheat, grain markets scored higher weekly closes and ended above the 20-day moving average for the first time in weeks, according to Darren Frye, Water Street Solutions.
USDA cut its estimate for Brazil’s soybean production by 1 MMT in the March WASDE report, which was less than what the trade expected. USDA didn’t make any cuts to Brazil’s corn.
Until USDA’s May WASDE report rolls around, these acreage, yield, supply and ending stock figures are the talk of the town.