Indiana Grain Company, LLC

Posted: 09/29/11

By: tomgrisafi

Grain traders are eagerly awaiting the latest government data on U.S. corn inventories.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will release its quarterly report of grain in storage, both on-farm and off-farm, Friday at 8:30 a.m. EDT.

The report provides an estimate of inventories as of September 1st, Dow Jones Newswire confirms, which marks the end of the 2010-2011 crop year for corn and soybeans.

Most analysts project corn inventories at 962 million bushels, with estimates ranging between 820 million to 1.050 billion bushels.

The average projection is above the USDA's estimate of 920 million bushels as of June 1st.

"Analysts say strong demand for corn is keeping supplies near historic lows," the report reads. "The wild card in the report is the agency's estimate for animal feed and residual use, as traders watch to see if the USDA makes any changes. Residual use accounts for corn that is in the process of being delivered."

Jerry Gidel, an analyst with North America Risk Management Services, tells Dow Jones that he estimates competitive wheat prices cut annual feed demand for corn by 60 million bushels to a total of 4.94 billion bushels, boosting stocks as of Sept. 1 to 990 million bushels.

Source: Dow Jones Newswire

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