US Corn futures and other grains volatile ahead of US farming data

US corn futures and other agricultural and grain futures have been jittery ahead of what is sure to be a big Thursday for all grain stocks.

Corn futures on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) fell during Wednesday ahead of the reports, with May corn falling to just over $4.32 per bushel.

Similarly, May-24 wheat futures was trading 1.8% lower yesterday, with Kansas City May wheat falling significantly to trade at $5.77 per bushel.

Soybean futures and soybean meal and oil prices also dropped significantly.

Two significant reports

Later today, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is set to release both its latest prospective plantings report and its quarterly grain stocks report.

The first of these two reports will reveal the USDA survey findings of what America’s farmers plan on planting in this current sowing period for next year, which typically has an impact on futures prices.

And, according to the USDA itself, we will likely see a drop in wheat, corn and soybeans planted, after a bumper crop this past year.

The second, the quarterly grain stocks report, gives estimate figures for the total amount farmed of various grains in the past quarter, including corn, wheat, soybeans, sorghum, rye and a host of others.

Bridging disaster

According to Morningstar, Tuesday’s Baltimore bridge collapse in the US may also have a significant impact. Dean Croke, analyst at freight-exchange service DAT Freight & Analytics, was quoted as saying:

“The port is the top U.S. entry point for large agriculture and construction equipment such as tractors, harvesters, forklifts and rubber tire dozers” and “March is the biggest month for imports of farm and construction machinery into the port of Baltimore.”

The USDA reports are expected at around 11am, Central Daylight Time, today.

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