Corn and soybean futures ended with moderate gains in post-USDA trade on Friday while wheat closed mixed.
Corn and soybeans advanced after the USDA supply-demand update lowered the US yield, production, and ending stocks estimates from last month. Soybeans saw a particularly sharp downgrade, with ending stocks cut by 80 million bu to 470 million, well below the average trade guess of 532 million. Soybeans hit a one-month high during the session before paring gains. Strength in soyoil added to the upside in soybeans. January soybeans gained 4 cents to $10.30 ¼, and March ended 6 cents higher at $10.43 ½.
For corn, ending stocks were lowered 60 million bu from October to 1.938 billion bu, slightly below the average trade guess of 1.946 and compared to 1.76 billion in 2023-24. Corn hit a four-month high, before backing off. December corn was up 3 ½ cents to $4.31 and March gained 3 ¾ cents to $4.44 ¼.
For wheat, US ending stocks were pegged at 815 million bu in today’s update, up just 3 million bu from the October estimate although still a hefty 17% above last year. Meanwhile, global wheat ending stocks were trimmed a modest 100,000 tonnes from last month to 257.6 million. Some pressure on the market came from improving global weather conditions for the crop. December Chicago wheat was up a penny at $5.72 ½, December Kansas City slipped 4 ¾ cents to $5.64 ¼, and December Minneapolis was down 4 ¾ cents at $5.97 ¾.
