US corn futures fell on Tuesday after the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecast 2020 plantings well above trade expectations at the largest in eight years, while soyabeans firmed on a lower-than-anticipated acreage outlook.
A tighter-than-expected USDA quarterly corn stocks estimate limited losses, but most contracts still notched fresh life-of-contract lows after the eagerly awaited government reports.
The outsized corn acreage forecast comes as numerous ethanol plants, users of more than a third of the US crop, have slowed or halted production amid a steep drop in energy prices triggered largely by the coronavirus pandemic.
The USDA, after surveying about 80,000 US farmers, pegged 2020 corn plantings at 96.990 million acres and soyabean plantings at 83.510 million acres. Analysts had been expecting the report to show 94.328 million acres of corn and 84.865 million acres of soyabeans planted this spring, according to a Reuters poll.
The USDA also estimated corn stocks on March 1 at 7.95 billion bushels, soyabean stocks at 2.25 billion bushels and wheat stocks at 1.41 billion bushels, all down from a year ago. Corn and wheat stocks were below the average trade estimate while soyabeans were slightly above.
Chicago Board of Trade May corn futures fell 1-1/4 cents to $3.40 a bushel by 12:15 p.m. CDT (1715 GMT) while new-crop December corn was down 2-1/4 cents at $3.57-1/2 a bushel after earlier hitting a contract low of $3.53-1/4 a bushel. All contracts from September 2020 and beyond set new contract lows. May soyabeans rose 1 cent to $8.83-1/4 a bushel while new-crop November gained 3 cents to $8.77-1/2 a bushel. CBOT May wheat was up 3-1/2 cents at $5.73 a bushel.
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