USDA Delivers Another Corn Surprise With Yield Cut, Acres Hike

Corn traders got the yield cut they wanted from the US Department of Agriculture, but the agency for the second straight month surprised the market by raising its outlook for harvested acres — this time to the highest since 1933.

The resulting outlook for a bigger-than-expected corn crop initially pressured futures in Chicago, before prices rallied over 2%. USDA in its so-called monthly WASDE report also boosted its outlook for US corn shipments, as importers such as Mexico take advantage of cheap grain.

“The largest surprise was obviously in the corn area going up,” Marex Group PLC senior agriculture ...