US soy output slips after dry crop weather, but supplies remain ample
Adds details on USDA data, analyst comment
By Tom Polansek
CHICAGO, Nov 8 (Reuters) -U.S. farmers grew lesssoybeans and corn this year than previously expected after a dry spell hurt crops, the Department of Agriculture said on Friday, but supplies remain hefty.
Growers are now estimated to have produced the second-biggest U.S. soy harvest in history after crop losses prevented them from setting a record and the third-largest corn harvest. End-of-season supplies are still projected to reach five-year highs for both crops, benefiting users like livestock producers who feed grain to farm animals.
Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures Sv1 touched a one-month peak as the harvest outlook fell short of traders' expectations, but the market pared gains on concerns about demand.
Prices have hovered near 2020 lows under pressure from large supplies and stiff export competition from Brazil, the world's biggest soy supplier. Worries about trade tensions with top importer China after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January have further anchored prices.
USDA estimated soy production at 4.461billion bushels, with an average yield of 51.7bushels per acre (bpa), down from its Octoberestimates of 4.582 billion bushels with yields at53.1 bpa.
Farmers uncovered lower-than-expected yields whileharvesting crops at a breakneck pace, after late-season dryness.
"That dry period there in August and September really put a dinger on a lot of soybeans finishing up," said Tomm Pfitzenmaier, analyst for Summit Commodity Brokerage in Iowa.
Thecorn harvest was 15.143billion bushels, with an average yield of 183.1 bpa, compared to USDA's October estimates for 15.203 billion bushels and yields of 183.8 bpa, the agency said in a monthly report.
Analysts had expected smaller cuts to production and yields, according to a Reuters poll.
USDA estimated 2024-25 U.S. soybean ending stocks at 470 million bushels, down from 550 million in October, and corn stocks at 1.938 billion bushels, down from 1.999 billion last month.
"We're now adequately supplied for corn, rather than burdensomely supplied," StoneX broker Craig Turner said.
Reporting by Tom Polansek in Chicago. Additional reporting by PJ Huffstutter.
Editing by Marguerita Choy
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