Corn production increases offset by harvested acre reductions provided a relatively neutral World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report Friday giving grain traders a sense of relief.

USDA’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report fell in line with trade expectations when it lowered corn ending stocks as producers struggle with a challenging harvest.

Corn futures contracts ended the day sharply lower after Department of Agriculture officials raised 2019/2020 corn yield estimates while lowering soybean yield estimates in the World Agricultural Supply and Demand report Thursday.

USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service lowered its production estimates for corn, soybeans and cotton, bumping corn down to 13.8 billion bushels and soybeans to 3.63 billion bushels, which each represent 1% declines from the August estimate.

USDA is cutting its estimates of U.S. corn and soybean acreage after resurveying farmers and doing further analysis of areas of the Midwest hit hard by heavy rains this spring. 

July reports from the Department of Agriculture offered little surprise to traders, including when USDA stuck with the much-maligned June Acreage report data.

The Department of Agriculture projects higher corn ending stocks, which would be the second largest on record behind 2016/17, in this month’s World Agriculture Supply and Demand report.

As trade disputes eroded major markets for American soybeans, U.S. producers grew more of the crop than ever befor e,according to Department of Agriculture data released Friday.