By: Tyne Morgan. Previously published by AgWeb Daily
Corn prices continue to be stagnant heading into 2019. As the front-month contracts struggle to break the $4 mark, there are some signs that corn could have more of a bullish story in the new year, compared to other key crops.
“In terms of corn, we really have made some progress in our usage being higher than our production numbers in the last several years, and we’ve reduced those inventories to what I call manageable levels,” said Chris Hurt, a Purdue University economist.
He said the eroding inventory levels are playing in corn producers’ favor. While he doesn’t think corn prices will explode, he thinks corn prices have a better chance of ticking higher in 2019 versus soybeans.
“We think we’re going to see some further erosion in inventory levels, and be getting corn prices higher, back to levels where at least we’re closer to getting cost and price into alignment.”
Hurt said it’s a very different situation for soybeans, calling it a very “difficult carryout situation.”