The US government said Monday that US corn and soybean crop conditions unexpectedly worsened last week, with crops strained by drought in growing areas west of the Mississippi River.
In addition, severe droughts across the northern plains of the US have dried up spring wheat, with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) weekly assessment showing the crop was at its worst since 1988.
The USDA said good-to-great valuations for corn fell 1 percent to 64% in the week ending July 25 due to declines in states such as Iowa and North Dakota. The soybean crop was rated from good to excellent, down 2 percentage points from the previous week at 58%.
The average analyst estimate in a Reuters poll bodes well for an excellent valuation for 65% of corn. The prognosis ranged from 64% to 66%, with an average of 65%.
The USDA Good to Excellent rating for soybeans was expected to be 60%, with estimates ranging from 59% to 62%. The average estimate for soybean was also 60%.
Spring wheat was rated 9% good to excellent, down 2 percentage points from the previous week and 1 percentage point below the average forecast by analysts.
