Chicago Board of Trade corn futures fell to 1-1/2 week lows on Thursday as investors squared positions ahead of Friday's US government reports that are expected to show higher plantings and ample stocks of the grain. Additional pressure stemmed from ample rains in the US Corn Belt that have bolstered yield prospects. CBOT September corn settled down 7-1/2 cents at $3.54-1/4 a bushel, while new-crop December ended down 7-1/4 cents at $3.66.
Better-than-expected weekly export sales, released by the US Department of Agriculture on Thursday morning limited declines before the late-session selling. The USDA is scheduled to release its US acreage and quarterly stocks reports on Friday. Analysts surveyed by Reuters on average expect the government to raise its estimate of US 2018 corn plantings from its March forecast.
The average June 1 corn stocks estimate among analysts surveyed by Reuters was 5.268 billion bushels, which would be the highest June 1 figure since 1988. Friday is also first notice day for deliveries against CBOT July futures contracts. Analysts surveyed by Reuters expect deliveries on 200 to 600 contracts.
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