US corn stocks down 38 pct from Dec 2011 March 1 stocks 2 pct smaller than expected Soybean stocks up 10 pct from year ago Soy stocks 1 pct smaller than trade expected
WASHINGTON, March 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. corn stockpile is down 8 percent from a year ago, the government said on Friday, with consumption running faster than traders expected.
The corn stockpile is forecast to shrink to 801 million bushels by the end of this marketing year on Aug 31, for the smallest tally in 16 years. The new government report pointed to a bare-bones supply when the fall harvest begins.
In a quarterly report, the Agriculture Department said there were 6.009 billion bushels of corn in storage as of March 1, 2 percent less than traders expected. Some 3.6 billion bushels were consumed during the quarter, equal to 30 percent of the 2011 crop.
Traders estimated consumption would be 4 percent smaller than USDA estimated. USDA surveyed 84,500 growers and all 8,900 commercial storage facilities to develop its figures.
Soybean stocks were estimated by USDA at 1.372 billion bushels, up 10 percent from one year ago but 1 percent smaller than traders expected. Some 994 billion bushels were consumed since Dec 1.
Wheat stocks totaled 1.201 billion bushels, according to USDA, down 16 percent from a year ago and 2 percent less than traders expected.
