CHICAGO, (Reuters) – U.S. soybean supplies were smaller than expected ahead of the 2019 harvest but still the highest on record, while corn stocks shrank by more than anticipated, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) quarterly stocks data on Monday.
The USDA estimated U.S. soybean supplies as of Sept. 1 at 913 million bushels, below the average trade estimate for 982 million bushels. Soy stocks, however, were up 108 percent from the same point last year, due largely to a sharp drop in U.S. exports to China amid a bitter trade war between the two countries.
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The USDA also revised its estimate for last year’s U.S. soybean crop to 4.428 billion bushels, down from its prior estimate of 4.544 billion and below trade expectations for a much smaller cut to 4.528 billion bushels.
Corn stocks as a Sept. 2 were 2.114 billion bushels, USDA said, below projections for 2.428 billion and down 1 percent from a year ago.
Quarterly wheat stocks were slightly above trade expectations at 2.385 billion bushels.
Grain and soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade rallied on Monday, with soybeans up about 2 percent at their highest in two weeks, while corn jumped nearly 3 percent to the highest in 1-1/2 months.
