HardAssetsInvestor

Written by Sumit Roy  |

June 30, 2011

Corn, Wheat Plunge; Soybeans Slip On USDA Data

Details

Corn hit by a double whammy of higher-than-expected inventories and plantings; other grains fared better.

Two reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture sent grain prices skidding on Thursday. In its quarterly Grains Stocks report, the USDA said that corn stocks in the second quarter totaled 3.67 billion bushels, well above the 3.32 billion that was expected. Wheat and soybean stocks totaled 0.861 billion bushels and 0.619 billion bushels, respectively, also above expectations, of 0.824 billion and 0.595 billion.

Front-month July corn contracts were last down $0.71/bushel, or more than 10 percent, while longer-dated contracts all fell by the exchange limit of $0.30/bushel. Prices are now testing support near $6/bushel, which corresponds to the lows put in during March.

Wheat prices also careened by more than 8 percent, with prices decisively breaking below support near $6.50/bushel. Wheat is now at the lowest level since July of last year.