USDA to Raise Soybean Production Forecast, Analysts Say

Analysts expect a coming government report to provide further evidence of a large U.S. harvest this year.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will release its monthly supply and demand report at noon Thursday, updating its harvest and stockpile forecasts.

Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect the agency to forecast soybean production at 4.439 billion bushels, up from its September estimate of 4.431 billion. That's based on a yield of 49.8 bushels per acre, little changed from a month earlier.

They see the USDA's corn production estimate at 14.168 billion bushels, down slightly from September, with corn yield at 169.7 bushel per acre.

Those figures would further confirm earlier USDA reports, initially widely questioned by analysts, that crops were on track for a bumper harvest despite a difficult crop season. Erratic weather complicated planting and growth across the Midwest and Plains.

Results from the ongoing harvest have been varied, though analysts say soybean yields in particular have been better than expected. They say there is little chance that the U.S. will come out of the harvest undersupplied.

Analysts also expect the USDA to show a small decrease in its corn and soybean stockpile estimates for 2017-18, both domestically and globally.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 11, 2017 19:25 ET (23:25 GMT)