Futures prices for corn, soybeans, and wheat all dropped on Friday on the heels of bearish soybean supply numbers in the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Sept. 29 Quarterly Stocks Report.
Traders were paying close attention to old crop corn and soybean estimates, as a review of the balance sheet was completed. As expected, there were revisions in average, yield, and production for the 2022 crop.
Old crop corn stocks in all positions on September 1, 2023 totalled 1.36 billion bushels — down one per cent year-over-year.
Soybeans came in higher than trade expectations, catching the market off guard. Ending stocks for old crop soybeans totalled 268 million bushels, down two per cent year-over-year, and 26 million bushels higher than what the trade was anticipating. The 2022 soybean production was revised down 5.93 million bushels from the previous estimate.
In the all-wheat category, supplies in all positions on September 1, 2023 totalled 1.78 billion bushels, up slightly from a year ago. Winter wheat production was at 1.25 billion, which was higher than traders expected. Spring wheat also came in above, with durum falling in line with expectations.