USDA Raises Corn Harvest Forecast

Federal forecasters increased their projections for this year's corn harvest, a bounty that would add to an already ample supply of grain.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Thursday that U.S. farmers would produce 14.28 billion bushels of corn, above analyst expectations and the agency's previous September estimate. That was based on a yield of 171.8 bushels per acre, up from a month earlier.

The USDA expects total soybean production of 4.431 billion bushels, with a yield of 49.5 bushels per acre. Its production estimate was unchanged from last month and below pre-report estimates.

Traders are braced for another large harvest, despite initial thoughts that a difficult growing season would translate into smaller crops. The USDA's current estimates would make for an all-time high soybean haul along with the second-largest corn harvest on record. Farmers have harvested over a third of the soybean crop, along with more than a fifth of this year's corn.

December corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade rose 0.9% to $3.49 a bushel after the report. November soybean contracts gained 2.2% to $9.86 3/4 a bushel.

Write to Benjamin Parkin at benjamin.parkin@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 12, 2017 12:39 ET (16:39 GMT)