Bearish USDA Report and Grains Close Higher

On Thursday the USDA released the April Supply Demand Report. Traders called the numbers "bearish but yet both corn and beans closed firmer. It has been a while since we have seen a reaction like that! Maybe those numbers were "already in the market?" In about the last month or so beans have dropped about a dollar a bushel and corn about 70 cents.

The USDA raised the U.S. corn carryover from 1.892 billion bushel to 2.092 billion. The big change was cutting corn used for ethanol by 375 million bushel. With many ethanol plants shutting down it is hard to argue with that. U'S. bean carryover increased from 425 million last month to 480 million this month. The USDA increased soybean crush by 20 million but exports were cut by 50 million, 2 million was cut for seed use, and 24 million was cut it residual use.