Corn contracts came under significant pressure on the CBoT on Tuesday. Corn for September lost 13.50 US cents and closed at 371.50 US cents per bushel. December followed with a drop of 13.25 US cents to 394.50 US cents. The price losses were triggered by the USDA harvest estimate, which caught market participants on the wrong foot.
The US Department of Agriculture surprisingly raised the average acreage yield forecast significantly to 188.8 bushels per acre, which was well above the market expectation of 184.3. At the same time, acreage was expanded to 97.3 million acres, which is 2.1 million acres more than last reported.
US production has thus risen to 16.742 billion bushels (425.25 million tons), a good 1 billion more than previously expected. New ending stocks also rose accordingly to 2.117 billion bushels.
The condition of stocks fell slightly: the proportion rated "good to excellent" fell by one point to 72% nationwide.
Internationally, Brazil's stable production figures of 132 million tons and increased export expectations for August (ANEC: +0.39 to 7.97 million tons) added to the pressure. Meanwhile, a South Korean importer secured 65,000 tons of corn overnight.
On Euronext, maize for November also fell by €2.50 to €187.50/t.
