09/12/2023 Markets Soft and Unsettled Leaning into 11 AM WASDE Updates from USDA

On the Grains: Markets are barely steady and leaning soft in overnight trade. Positioning ahead of this morning’s highly anticipated crop report and WASDE updates should be complete. We’ve detailed average trade expectations and the wide ranges for yields, usage and ending stocks in recent reports, but here’s a quick rundown of just the most important ones of all: 2023-24 crop ending Stocks. They are the net result of USDA’s changes in beginning stocks from last year, acreage tweaks from FSA data, yields from Mother Nature, domestic use from price change or exports from foreign competition. “Bottom line” ending stocks are always the very first line item on the balance sheets that most traders will look at when the reports come out at 11 a.m. Here are the averages and range of ending stocks estimates again: CORN – Average of 2.134 billion bu., down from 2.202 billion last month and ranging from 1.830 billion to 2.399 billion. SOYBEANS – Average of 213 million bu., down from 245 million last month and ranging from 170 million to 270 million. WHEAT – Average of 615 million bu., unchanged from last month but ranging from 586 million to 630 million bushels. After the close, we…