US corn inventories on March 1 were likely around 900M bushels lower than a year earlier, not the 514M reported by the USDA last week, says John Macintosh of Rand Financial Services in an article circulated by traders. He's repeatedly criticized the agency about its estimates and Macintosh's comments are well-read by traders and reflective of broader concerns about USDA accuracy. He contends the agency incorrectly accounts for corn that has left farms and is "in transit" while more corn may have to be used as animal feed. Macintosh adds his own weight tests on corn suggest inventories were lower than reported since the corn weighed less than a year earlier. But corn in the US is usually measured by volume, not weight. (owen.fletcher@dowjones.com)

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 03, 2012 10:56 ET (14:56 GMT)