UPDATE 1-U.S. delays key
agriculture reports due to government shutdown
Published 11:21 AM ET Fri, 4 Jan 2019
(Adds context, background)
CHICAGO, Jan 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) delayed several major U.S. and world crop reports because of the
two-week-old partial government shutdown, the agency said on Friday.
New release dates for the monthly World Agricultural Supply and
Demand Estimates report and other data originally scheduled for Jan. 11 will be
set once government funding is restored, USDA said.
Traders regard the supply and demand report as the gold standard
for crop forecasts. Its release often roils Chicago Board of Trade grain and
soy futures and sets price direction. Farmers rely on the data to make their
planting and harvesting plans.
Aside from U.S. forecasts, the report includes USDA's latest fix
on everything from corn and soy production in Brazil and Argentina, both key
exporters, to projected wheat exports from top suppliers such as Russia, the
European Union, Argentina and Australia.
Also delayed are a quarterly report on U.S. grain stocks, a final
U.S. crop production report for 2018 and USDA's report on winter wheat seedings
for harvest in 2019.
The shutdown was triggered last month by President Donald Trump's
demand for $5 billion to fund a U.S.-Mexico border wall. Democrats who now
control the House of Representatives have vowed to fund the government through
legislation, but Trump has insisted that any plan to reopen the government
include wall money.
Trump and congressional leaders were to meet on Friday to discuss
breaking the impasse. About one-quarter of the federal government, including
many from the USDA, are off the job.
Farmers already battered
by the U.S.-China trade war may also face delays in crucial aid and loan payments
from the federal government because of the shutdown. (Reporting by Julie
Ingwersen; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
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