The most striking changes to the new USDA forecasts for wheat are the 12 million ton increase in estimated ending stocks for the 2014/15 season and the upward correction of the forecast for the global surplus in 2015/16 from 2 million to over 7 million tons. Wheat fell slightly to 576 US cents per bushel.
The changes are largely attributable to Chinese demand, for which the data situation tends to be tricky and prone to revision. As far as global production is concerned, on the other hand, the crop estimates in the Black Sea region were raised, though this was offset by cuts in Canada and the EU.
Despite the weather-related harvesting delays and quality reductions, the USDA maintains its optimistic view of the US wheat crop.