Traders expect the USDA to lower by 2 percent its forecast of the U.S. soybean stockpile today in its monthly WASDE report. At the moment, supplies are projected to be the largest in eight years, at 385 million bushels, the result of a record-setting harvest last fall. Exports have been running ahead of USDA projections, so the carry-over at the end of this marketing year may be shrinking. At harvest time, the USDA said end stocks would be 415 million bushels. Since then, it has raised its estimate for exports and lowered it for end stocks.
The March crop report often gains limited attention in the marketplace because two major reports are due at the end of the month: the quarterly Grain Stocks report, which will gauge how rapidly the corn, wheat and soybean supplies are being used, and the annual Prospective Plantings report, based on a survey of 80,000 farmers. It is the first farmer-based estimate of spring plantings.