Lower Stocks Means Higher Prices for Wheat and Corn

Stocks of wheat and corn for February are lower according to the USDA’s latest crop reports.

Wheat estimates dropped by 47 million bushels due to higher than expected demand, and USDA Chief Economist Rob Johannson said that means good things for prices.

“We’re going to bump our mid-range estimate to about $3.85 per bushel for the year so that means we’ll probably be marketing at above that going forward until the new crop comes in.”

That’s a nickel bump for forecast wheat prices.

Corn stocks show a 35 million bushel decrease with increases in food, seed and industrial use, but Johannson said that drop won’t impact their thoughts.

“We’re not changing our mid-range all-year price coming in at $3.40 a bushel.”