Chicago Board of Trade corn was under pressure early on Thursday due to the profit-taking setback in wheat and a big US crop estimate by a closely watched private analytical firm, traders said.
September corn down 5-3/4 cents at $3.23 per bushel and new-crop December was 6-1/4 lower at $3.39-1/2 by 11:45 am CDT (1645 GMT). Traders said analytical firm Informa Economics raised its 2007 US corn crop estimate to 13.323 billion bushels, with an average yield of 156 bushels per acre - up from 13.09 billion bushels and yield of 153.3 bpa estimated last month. Informa's crop forecast is bigger than USDA current record forecast for a 13.054 billion bushel crop and an average yield of 152.8 bpa.
Commodity brokerage firm FC Stone on Wednesday pegged the 2007 US corn crop at 13.062 billion bushels, with an average yield of 152.9 bushels per acre.
Those estimates and strong yield reports from early harvest efforts were cementing ideas that USDA will raise its corn production estimate in its next report on September 12. CBOT oats were slightly weaker, down 1-1/2 cent with December at $2.61 per bushel.