Chicago corn prices have come under pressure with near-record US crop flooding the market.
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Corn production is forecast at 13.6 billion bushels, down 5 percent from last year’s record production and down less than 1 percent from the September forecast, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported Friday.
On Thursday, however, buying tapered off in part due to ongoing reports from farmers of strong crop-yields and signs that growers were marketing their crops to take advantage of higher prices.
Analysts, on average had been expecting harvested corn acreage of 80.826 million and harvested soybean acreage of 82.914 million. Analysts said producer selling and harvest progress pressured corn prices despite expectations the USDA on Friday also will trim estimates for US corn production and inventories.
Wheat and corn have pulled back since Wednesday, when the front-month contracts reached their highest levels since July.
US soybean exports for 2015-16 are reduced 50 million bushels to 1,675 million on the slow pace of sales and increased competitor supplies, the report said.
CBOT December corn shed 4 1/2 cents, or 1.1%, to $3.91 1/2 a bushel.
However, futures recovered from an early tumble to stand at $5.18 ½ a bushel, a gain of 1.4%, as investors questioned a few of the assumptions in the Wasde, including cuts to estimates for USA exports and feed use of wheat.
“There is no relief though in prospect for US soft red winter wheat regions and dry regions around the Black Sea”, Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy at Commonwealth Bank of Australia said in a note.
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The USDA report said wheat net sales was 288,200 metric tons, up from previous week. Still, world wheat supplies are ample, analysts said, making it hard for wheat prices to sustain a long climb. “It’s going to be hard to rally on weather alone this time year”. Wheat for December delivery rose 1.2 percent to $5.17 3/4 a bushel.
