Markets Focus on USDA Reports

CHICAGO - Aug 9/06 - SNS -- International agriculture commodity markets remain relatively busy, with India working on covering its food production deficit by boosting imports of wheat and freeing market access for commodities such as pulses.

This reveals fairly good demand fundamentals, but markets appear more interested in the contents of Friday's USDA reports.

Forecasts of the contents of Friday's USDA crop report and supply-demand forecasts are becoming more abundant. Surveys reveal the average trade estimate for 2006 US all wheat production is 1,762 million bushels, ranging between 1,724 and 1,802 million. Last month';s USDA production forecast was 1,806 million, down from 2,105 million bushels in 2005. Other spring wheat production is expected to come in around 426 million bushels, with guesses ranging between 402 and 474 million bushels, down from 465 million last month and 505 million for 2005.

In the case of corn, traders are looking for the USDA to come in with a 10,795 million bushel crop, with trade guesses ranging beteem 10,380 and 11,103 million. This is up from the USDA's July forecast of a 19,740 million bushel harvest, but below last year's 11,112 million bushel result.

For soybeans, traders are looking for production to be pegged at 3,020 million bushels, with trade guesses ranging between 2,909 and 3,105 million. Last month's forecast was 3,010 million bushels, while the U.S. grew 3,086 million bushels of soybeans in 2005.

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