Forex Pros – Corn futures were up for a fifth day on Wednesday, trading near a three-week high after the U.S. Department of Agriculture said that U.S. corn stockpiles rose less-than-expected, underlining concerns over tightening supplies.
On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, corn futures for July delivery traded at USD7.0500 a bushel during European morning trade, jumping 1.95%.
It earlier rose to USD7.1150 a bushel, hovering below the previous session’s three-week high of USD7.1275.
The more actively traded September contract edged 0.35% higher to trade at 6.6750 a bushel.
The USDA said in its World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report published Tuesday that it now expected U.S. corn supplies in the 2010-11 season ending August 1 to total 870 million bushels, the lowest since the 1996 season and below expectations of 1.02 billion bushels.
The U.S. is both the world’s largest corn producing nation and the world’s largest exporter of the grain.
Global corn inventories before the 2012 harvest was projected to decline to 115.66 million tons from a previous estimate of 120.88 million. Stockpiles will be equal to about 13% of consumption, the lowest since 1974.
The agency forecast that global corn consumption would rise 4.1% to 877.6 million metric tons in the 2011-12 season, which begins on October 1, up from 842.8 million this year.
The USDA also lowered its forecast for corn acreage in the 2011-2012 season by 1.5 million acres from March estimates to 90.7 million acres.
Elsewhere, wheat for September delivery slumped 0.8% to trade USD6.6763 a bushel, while soybeans for August delivery added 0.35% to trade at USD13.6013 a bushel.
Global wheat supplies were projected to total 182.2 million tons in the 2011-12 season, compared to a previous estimate of 190 million, while global soybean stockpiles were expected to total 61.97 million tons, down 5.9% from last month’s forecast.
Corn is the biggest U.S. crop, valued at USD66.7 billion in 2010, followed by soybeans at USD38.9 billion, government figures show. Wheat was fourth at USD13 billion, behind hay.
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