Condition ratings for the U.S. soybean crop unexpectedly rose in the past week after some weekend rain in places such as Illinois, North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Monday.
USDA pegged the soybean crop as 60% good to excellent as of July 31, up 1 percentage point from a week earlier and in line with ratings from a year earlier.
A better-than-expected soy crop from the United States, the world’s No. 2 exporter after Brazil, could help replenish supplies of the oilseed at a time of tight global stocks.
Analysts had been expecting the report to show good-to-excellent ratings of 58%, according to a Reuters poll.
August is a crucial development month for soybeans when harvest yield potential is determined.
The corn crop was rated 61% good to excellent, unchanged from a week earlier but 1 percentage point lower than a year earlier. Analysts had expected corn to be rated 60% good to excellent.
USDA rated the spring wheat crop as 70% good to excellent and said that winter wheat harvest was 82% complete.
Analysts expected the USDA would show that the spring wheat crop was rated 67% good to excellent, 1 percentage point lower than a week ago. A year ago, only 10% of the spring wheat crop was rated good to excellent due to a drought in the northern U.S. Plains.
