U.S. Reduces Corn and Soybean Estimates
America’s stockpiles of corn and soybeans will be drawn down to thin levels this year, the government said in a reporton Wednesday that sent grain and oilseed prices soaring and added to concerns over surging world food prices. Coach Outlet Dwindling stocks in the United States, the world’s biggest food exporter, and poor outlooks from other major exporting countries are combining to make the year the toughest since 2008, when tight supplies led to rising prices and food riots in some countries. By the time next year’s crop is ready for harvest in September, the Agriculture Department forecast that stocks of soybeans will be 140 million bushels, 10 percent below analysts’ expectations. Corn stocks will probably be 745 million bushels, 4 percent below forecasts and the smallest supply since 1995. Both corn and soybeans rose to 30-month highs on the Chicago Board of Trade after the report. The department said the stocks-to-use ratio — an important indicator of supply and demand — for corn was projected at 5.5 percent, the lowest since 1995-96 when it dropped to 5 percent. The ratio reflected a decline in the yield estimates for last fall’s harvest and an increase in its outlook for ethanol use. Cheap Nike Shoes The stocks-to-use ratio for soybeans was 4.2 percent, the lowest level since soybeans became a major crop for American farmers, said Keith Menzie, an oilseeds analyst for the department’s World Agricultural Outlook Board. Stocks of soybeans in the United States totaled 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 agency 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 at 1.93 billion bushels, up 8 percent from a year ago. The agency also increased wheat exports because of brisk sales to date and reduced competition from flood-hit Australia. Included in Wednesday’s statement was the first estimate of winter wheat plantings. Coach Sale At 40.99 million acres, it represented a 10 percent increase over last year and reflected strong prices and good planting conditions. The agency has not yet forecast how many acres of corn and soybeans American producers will plant this spring. But this year is off to a bad start in other parts of the world, with searing heat in Argentina and floods in Australia darkening the outlook for their harvests.