Smaller Soybean, Corn Crops Seen
The Agriculture Department on Monday trimmed its estimates for the nation’s corn and soybean harvests by 6% and 3%, respectively, compared to a year ago, and said the unusually dry summer in the Midwest was responsible.
Farmers should harvest 7.42 billion bushels of corn and 1.87 billion bushels of soybeans, the department said. These figures were reduced from last month’s estimates by 857 million bushels for corn and 100 million for soybeans.
Brokers at the Chicago Board of Trade said they expect corn prices to open nearly unchanged and soybean prices to open five cents per bushel lower.
Corn for September delivery closed Monday at $2.53 a bushel, a gain of 2.25 cents, and August soybeans closed 2.5 cents higher at $5.585 a bushel.
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