Investing.com - U.S. corn and soybean futures extended gains from the previous session on Tuesday to hit eight-month highs, after the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast lower-than-expected domestic supplies this year.
On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, US corn for May delivery rose to a session high of $5.0500 a bushel, the most since August 26. Corn last traded at $5.0438 a bushel during U.S. morning hours, up 0.39%, or 1.85 cents.
The May corn contract rallied 2.03%, or 10.0 cents, on Monday to settle at $5.0200 a bushel after the USDA projected lower-than-expected plantings of the grain this spring.
U.S. farmers will plant 91.7 million acres of corn, a 4% decline from last year and the lowest total in four years. The projected corn plantings trailed analyst forecasts for approximately 92.9 million acres.
The USDA also said that domestic supplies as of March 1 totaled 7 billion bushels, compared to expectations for 7.1 billion bushels.
Meanwhile, US soybeans for May delivery rose to a daily peak of $14.8163 a bushel, the highest since July 23, before trimming gains to trade at $14.7638 a bushel, up 0.8%, or 11.8 cents.
The May soybean contract jumped 1.91%, or 27.4 cents, on Monday after the USDA said soybean inventories on March 1 totaled 992 million bushels, down from 998 million at the same time last year. Analysts had expected about 989 million bushels.
According to the agency, soybean acreage will rise to 81.493 million acres planted, a record high, from 76.533 million last year.
Elsewhere on the CBOT, US wheat for May delivery tumbled 1.19%, or 8.3 cents, to trade at $6.8888 a bushel.
The May wheat contract slumped to $6.7640 a bushel on Monday, the lowest since March 18, before turning higher to settle at $6.9720, up 0.25%, or 1.6 cents.
The USDA pegged wheat stocks at 1.06 billion bushels, above expectations of 1.03 billion bushels.
Corn is the biggest U.S. crop, followed by soybeans, government figures show. Wheat was fourth, behind hay.