Grain traders were awaiting the release of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s weekly crop progress report due out after Monday’s closing bell to gauge how ongoing drought conditions have impacted yields and damaged crops.
Escalating concerns over the impact of the worst drought in at least 56 years in the U.S. Midwest and Great Plains-region have fuelled a furious rally in grain prices over the past two months.
Corn prices have surged nearly 55% during the period, wheat futures soared approximately 40%, while soy prices added 30%.
In its crop estimate report released after Friday’s closing bell, agriculture-advisory firm Pro Farmer predicted a U.S. soybean crop of 2.60 billion bushels with an average yield of 34.8 bushels per acre.
The USDA had predicted earlier in the month that U.S. farmers will harvest 2.69 billion bushels, down 12% from last year.
Based on August 1 conditions, yields are expected to average 36.1 bushels per acre, the lowest since 2003.
Pro Farmer also said that it expected the corn harvest to yield 10.47 billion bushels at an average yield 120.25 bushels per acre.
Earlier in the month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast U.S. corn production of 123 bushels per acre totaling 10.8 billion bushels, 13% lower than in 2011 and the lowest since 2006.
U.S. production last year totaled about 13 billion bushels with a yield of 148 bushels per acre.
The latest projections were based partly on the four-day crop tour of seven states that ended on Friday. Tour participants included farmers, brokers, hedge fund analysts, agronomists and grain buyers.
The USDA will update its own production numbers on September 12.
On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, soybeans futures for November delivery traded at USD17.5012 a bushel, climbing 1.1%.
Earlier in the day, the November contract rose by as much as 1.6% to hit a session high of USD17.6063 a bushel, just below a record high of USD17.7762 a bushel hit on July 20.
Soybeans were underpinned by USDA export data showing that U.S. farmers sold 718,000 tonnes of soybeans last week, above market expectations for exports of 650,000 tonnes.
Soy futures have gained sharply in recent weeks, as the same hot, dry weather that boosted corn buoyed soy futures as well. Soybeans are grown in many of the same regions across the U.S. as corn.
The USDA said 31% of the soybean crop was rated ‘good’ to ‘excellent’ last week, the lowest level for this time of year since 1988.
Elsewhere, corn futures for December delivery traded at USD8.1188 a bushel, adding 0.35%. The December contract was stuck in a tight trading range of USD8.1138 a bushel, the daily low and a session high of USD8.1788 a bushel.
Front-month prices touched an all-time high of USD8.4237 a bushel on August 10.
Tour participants reported that corn yields in Illinois were set to fall to the lowest level in 17 years. Tour organizers also reported disappointing corn yields in Indiana, Ohio, Nebraska and South Dakota.
Weekly crop progress data from the USDA released last week showed that 23% of the U.S. corn crop was rated in ‘good’ to excellent’ condition, significantly lower than the 57% recorded in the same week a year earlier.
The U.S. produced 38% of the world's corn last year, making it the both world's largest corn producing nation and the largest exporter of the grain.
Meanwhile, wheat for December delivery traded at USD8.8812 a bushel, easing down 0.1%. The December contract traded in between a narrow range of USD8.8725 a bushel, the daily low and a session high of USD8.9912.
Wheat futures have rallied in recent weeks amid growing concerns over a disruption to exports from Russia.
Mounting fears over dry weather conditions in Western Australia, the largest wheat producing state in Australia, further supported gains.
However, prices have given back some of those gains as market players sold positions after agricultural meteorologists predicted much-needed rainfall in portions of the U.S. winter wheat-growing region.
Corn is the biggest U.S. crop, valued at USD66.7 billion in 2010, followed by soybeans at USD38.9 billion, government figures show. Wheat was fourth at USD13 billion, behind hay.
For the latest updates on the stock market, PRESS CTR + D or visit Stock Market Today For the latest updates PRESS CTR + D or visit Stock Market news Today
No comments:
Post a Comment