October 4

10/4 – The USDA’s quarterly Grain Stocks report was a mixed bag for prices. Sept 1st corn stocks came in at 1.24B bushels - 69M bushels above pre-report expectations, but still 36% below year-ago levels. While slightly improved, overall corn supplies remain historically tight. Corn futures closed at $5.41per bushel on Friday (10/1) after averaging $5.18 for the month of September. Sept 1st soybean stocks were 84M bu above trade estimates at 256M bu. While still 51% below a year ago, the extra beans do help loosen up a very tight balance sheet. Soy-oil futures that averaged $.66/lb for Jun-Jul-Aug, dropped to $.57 in Sept and closed at $.5861/lb on Friday (10/1). Sept 1st wheat stocks were bullish for prices at 1.78B bushels - 79M below expectations and 18% less than a year ago. Wheat futures that averaged $7.03 per bushel in Sept closed at $7.55 on Friday (10/1).