Corn Prices Slip Ahead of Crucial USDA Report
Corn futures posted marginal losses on Tuesday, but the market is bracing for a significant report from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) later this week. According to Barchart, contracts were down 1 to 2 cents across the board.
The USDA's Crop Progress report showed that 94% of the US corn crop had silked by August 9, with 61% in the dough stage, a full 6 percentage points ahead of normal. The crop was also 16% dented, and US condition ratings were steady at 61% in good to excellent condition.
Analysts surveyed by Reuters expect yield to reach 182.4 bushels per acre, with a range of 180.5 to 184.8 bpa. Production is estimated at 15.934 billion bushels, as harvested acres are expected to be trimmed by 76,000. Ending stocks for old crop corn are seen at 1.999 billion bushels, down 21 million from last month.
Meanwhile, the Brazilian corn export total is expected to reach 5.17 million metric tons in August, up from last week's estimate of 4.08 million metric tons.