Prospective Plantings: Smaller Than Expected

(Bloomberg) -- Soybean and corn futures jumped in Chicago on Thursday after a report from the Department of Agriculture showed that U.S. farmers are planting smaller-than-expected crops.

Soybeans for May delivery rose as much as 3.2 percent to $10.5075 per bushel while corn for delivery in the same month climbed 3.4 percent to $3.8625.

The market shrugged off a simultaneous report released by the USDA which showed larger-than-expected inventories of both commodities as of March 1

The 2018 acreage for soybeans will be 89 million, while corn may be planted on 88 million acres, the USDA said in Washington. Plantings for both will decline from a year ago, missing the lowest prediction in a Bloomberg survey of analysts.

The planting estimates are the USDA’s first forecast of the year based on farmer surveys. With seeding a few weeks away in most Midwestern states, price swings and weather can spur changes in the outlook. In February, the agency projected corn and soybeans would each cover 90 million acres.

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