01/12 07:37 CST UPDATE 1-US slashes soy, corn stocks below expectation
1-12-2011 08:37 UPDATE 1-US slashes soy, corn stocks below expectatio
* US soy end stocks 140 mln, 10 pct below est
* US corn end stocks 745 mln, 4 pct below est
* US Dec 1 soy stocks 2.277 bln, 3 pct below est
* US corn Dec 1 10.04 bln, just below est
* US winter wheat seedings on par with est
(Recasts, updates with USDA production report figures)
By Russell Blinch
WASHINGTON, Jan 12 (Reuters) – The United States will be
left with leaner stocks of soybeans and corn than expected at
the end of the 2010/11 marketing year, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture said on Wednesday in a report likely to ignite
grain markets and spark further concern over surging world
prices.
The USDA forecast soybean ending stocks at 140 million
bushels, 10 percent below analyst expectations, and corn ending
stocks at 745 million bushels, down 4 percent from trade
expectations, and the lowest level since 1995.
“The (corn) stocks-to-use ratio is projected at 5.5
percent, the lowest since 1995/96 when it dropped to 5
percent,” the USDA said, trimming yields for last fall’s
harvest and boosting estimates for ethanol use.
Stocks of U.S. soybeans totalled only 2.28 billion bushels
as of Dec. 1, or 3 percent less than traders had expected while
production was forecast at 1.3 percent less than expected by
the market at 3.329 billion bushels.
The USDA pegged the 2010 soy crop at 3.329 billion bushels,
below trade expectations of 3.373 billion bushels.
In its monthly crop report, the Agriculture Department said
Dec. 1 corn stocks also came in slightly lower than expected at
10.04 billion bushels, down 8 percent from a year ago, and just
below the 10.067 billion bushels, on average, expected by
traders.
Wheat inventories at Dec. 1 came in closer to expectations.
Stockpiles totalled 1.93 billion bushels, up 8 percent from
year ago, but below the 1.938 billion bushels expected by the
market.
The USDA forecast U.S. wheat stocks at the end of the
marketing year would be 818 million bushels, almost 4 percent
less than traders expected. The USDA boosted wheat exports
because of brisk sales to date and reduced competition from
flood-hit Australia.
The USDA released its first estimate of winter wheat
plantings of 40.99 million acres, a 10 percent increase from
last year, but reflecting trade expectations of big plantings
because of strong prices and good planting conditions.
Strong world demand, led by China, and bad weather in big
producing countries such as Australia have combined to diminish
crop inventories in the United States and around the world.
The USDA has not yet forecast how much corn and soybeans
U.S. producers will plant in coming months.