USDA lowers price estimates for key commodities
USDA on Thursday lowered the estimated farm-gate prices for crops harvested last fall while increasing its stock forecasts for some commodities.
USDA’s monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates trimmed the estimated 2023-2024 marketing year price for wheat and corn by 5 cents a bushel from the March forecast to $7.10 and $4.70 a bushel, respectively.
The projected price for wheat is down $1.73 a bushel from the 2022-23 marketing year, while the new estimate for corn is down $1.84 a bushel.
USDA lowered its estimated 2023-24 price for soybeans by 10 cents to $12.55 a bushel, $1.65 below the 2022-23 price.
The new estimated price for cotton is 76 cents a pound, nearly 9 cents below the 2022-23 price and one cent below the March estimate.
The slump in commodity prices has been driving calls on Capitol Hill to pass a new farm bill that could raise income supports for farmers by raising the reference prices that trigger payments to growers.
USDA lowered its forecast of ending stocks for corn by 50 million bushels to 2.12 billion bushels, but raised its estimate for soybean supplies by 25 million bushels to 340 million.
USDA raised its forecast for the amount of corn going into ethanol and feed. USDA now expects 5.4 billion bushels of corn to be converted into ethanol, an increase of 25 million bushels over the May estimate.
The forecast for wheat stocks was raised 25 million bushels to 698 million.
The new forecasts for ending stocks beat the trade expectations, as reported by Reuters. Analysts had expected corn stocks to come in at 2.1 billion bushels. The average estimates for wheat and soybean stocks were 690 million and 317 million bushels, respectively.
Futures prices for corn, soybeans and wheat were all lower in afternoon trading.
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