TOP STORIES: 



  Ample Supplies of Grain Run Up Against Weak Demand 


  U.S. farmers are expected to grow large corn and soybean crops this year -- but it is still unclear if an economy recovering from coronavirus will be strong enough to consume an ample harvest. 


  In a report Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture cut its production estimates for U.S. corn by nearly 1 billion bushels, bringing the total to 15 billion bushels. Meanwhile, U.S. soybean production is expected to rise to 4.14 billion bushels, up slightly from last month's estimates. 


  USDA Announces Nearly 1.7M Tons of Grains Sales to China -- Market Talk 


  09:30 ET - Chinese buyers have purchased roughly 1.69M metric tons of grains for delivery in the 2019/20 and 2020/21 marketing years, the USDA announced Friday. Of that, 1.37M tons of corn were sold for delivery in both marketing years, 190,000 tons of hard red spring wheat were sold for 2020/21, and 130,000 tons of hard red winter wheat were sold for 2020/21. Even though the sale of corn to China dwarfs the recent weekly export sales of corn overall--with sales totaling 1M tons in this weeks' report--grain traders appear to be more focused on today's WASDE report and anything concerning weather globally. Corn futures are down 0.6% ahead of the market's open. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais) 


  STORIES OF INTEREST: 


  Acreage Change Shows Limited Effect on Big U.S. Corn Supply 


  A decline in planted acreage reported last month looks to have a limited effect on U.S. corn production in 2020. 


  In its monthly supply and demand estimates report Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture cut its production estimates for U.S. corn by nearly 1 billion bushels, bringing the total to 15 billion bushels. Prior to the report's release, analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal projected that corn production would total 15.06 billion bushels, down from a record-large 16 billion bushels projected last month. 


  Trump Dims Hopes for New China Trade Deal 


  President Trump damped expectations for a promised phase-two trade pact with China on Friday, saying the relationship between the countries has been too badly damaged by the coronavirus pandemic. 


  "I don't think about it now," Mr. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, where he criticized China's response to the new coronavirus, which continues to spread rapidly throughout the U.S. "They could have stopped the plague, they could have stopped it, they didn't stop it." 


  THE MARKETS: 


  Livestock Futures Finish Week Little Changed -- Market Talk 


  15:11 ET - Live cattle futures end trading Friday up 0.8% at $1.00 per pound, while lean hog futures finish 0.7% lower at 49.875 cents per pound. In its WASDE report released this afternoon, the USDA forecast that meat production will rise this year, but export demand for meats will vary--beef exports will likely drop, and pork exports will rise "as international demand is expected to remain robust." For the week, cattle futures finished 0.2% lower, and hog futures finished 0.1% higher. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)