Market News & Headlines >> U.S. Soybean Carryout Seen Slightly Lower

USDA is expected to lower its estimate of the 2016/17 soybean carryout slightly in Friday’s monthly supply/demand update due to continued strong export demand, but the projected corn carryout is expected to rise slightly.

 Pre-report trade estimates of the U.S. soybean carryout average 470 million bushels, 10 million below USDA’s November forecast, in a range from 428-500 million, according to a survey of 18 analysts by Reuters News Service. At the average of trade estimates,  the U.S. soybean carryout would still be the largest since 2006-07. 

While U.S. soybean export sales and shipments are comfortably ahead of pace to reach USDA’s current projection for record marketing year exports, rising prospects for a bumper crop in Brazil figure to cut off demand for U.S. soybeans. 

Trade expectations for U.S. corn ending stocks average 2.413 billion bushels, 10 million above USDA’s November projection, in range from 2.364-2.584 billion. The trade expects the increase even though exports are ahead of pace to reach USDA’s export forecast and corn-for-ethanol usage was higher-than-expected during the first two months of the marketing year. 

USDA is expected to lower its U.S. wheat carryout forecast marginally with trade estimates of 2016/17 ending stocks averaging 1.139 billion bushels, 4 million below USDA’s November estimate in a range from 1.030-1.187 billion bushels.