The Agriculture Department lowered its estimate of already tight ending stocks for soybeans as USDA increased its estimate of how much of the 2020 crop would be crushed.

A pair of reports from Department of Agriculture economists project a drop in American grain and oilseed production and overseas stocks on hand, prolonging a bump in commodity prices.

A new report from the Department of Agriculture reduced the expected corn and soybean production this year, a move that also boosted the government’s expectations for commodity prices.

Department of Agriculture officials expect corn and soybean yields will average a record high this year despite lowering yield estimates from last month, and grain traders are watching to see if China keeps up ag purchases to support market prices.

The Agriculture Department estimates that farmers will harvest a record corn crop this fall and produce the second largest amount of soybeans.

USDA maintained corn and soybean yields and raised old crop ending stocks in Friday’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report.

The Department of Agriculture slightly raised 2020/21 beginning and ending corn stocks in the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report released Thursday, but traders showed little reaction.

Grain markets barely reacted to USDA’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report released Tuesday as U.S. corn ending stocks for this marketing year are expected to grow but not as high as traders had expected.

Department of Agriculture officials dropped corn used to produce ethanol by 375 million bushels in this month’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report released Thursday, while raising corn, soybean, and wheat ending stocks.

Tuesday’s release of the World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates report did little to shake up commodity markets as the figures in it were largely unchanged from the previous month’s estimates.