Wednesday's Closing Grain & Livestock Futures Prices
Dec. corn closed at $3.70 and 1/4, up 5 and 3/4 cents
Nov. soybeans closed at $10.20 and 1/2, up 10 and 1/2 cents
Dec. soybean meal closed at $375.30, up $2.80
Dec. soybean oil closed at 32.72, down 35 points
Dec. wheat closed at $5.24 and 3/4, down 5 and 3/4 cents
Dec. live cattle closed at $165.20, down $1.45
Dec. lean hogs closed at $87.12, down 85 cents
Nov. crude oil closed at $78.68, up $1.49
Dec. cotton closed at 62.71, down 9 points
Nov. Class III milk closed at $21.82, up 40 cents
Nov. gold closed at $1,145.40, down $22.00
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 17,484.53, up 100.69 points
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Ag Market News And ReCap:
Soybeans were higher on commercial and technical buying, rallying after some early losses. Harvest is ongoing, so that continued strong demand is being balanced out by an increasing supply. The trade’s also watching the planting pace around South America. Soybean meal was up and bean oil was down on the adjustment of product spreads. China’s National Grain and Oils Information Center estimates November soybean imports at 5.81 million tons and projects December at 6.8 million.
Corn was higher on commercial and technical buying, along with spillover from beans. Corn’s keeping an eye on harvest, which while it is behind average, has made a good advance over the past week. Past that – the trade’s getting ready for next week’s USDA numbers. The delay in soybean planting in Brazil could lead to lower second crop corn acreage later in the growing season. Ethanol futures were higher.
The wheat complex was lower on fund and technical selling, in addition to the higher dollar. A quick end to the corn and soybean harvests should allow winter wheat planting in the Eastern Midwest to wrap up soon. In any event, wheat’s fundamentals remain bearish. Export demand remains disappointing with Egypt buying 235,000 tons of wheat, this time from France and Ukraine.
Cattle country remained quiet on Wednesday afternoon and it doesn’t look like much business will surface before Thursday or Friday. Private sources report a few bids on the table in Nebraska at 260.00. Asking prices are difficult to identify especially in the wake of Wednesday’s sell-off in futures. At least some showlists continue to be priced at 170.00 plus in the South and 265.00 to 268.00 in the North. The kill totaled 107,000 head, 5,000 more than last week, but 14,000 below a year ago.
Boxed beef cutout values were higher on choice and weak on select on moderate demand and offerings. Choice beef was 1.10 higher at 251.24, and select was down .37 at 238.12.
Chicago Mercantile exchange live cattle contracts settled 5 to 155 points lower. Triple digit losses held in the nearby contracts as traders looked past light to moderate support in the morning boxed beef reports and focused on the lack of direction in the cash market. Follow through pressure held through the end of the session, creating a showdown at the end of the week in both futures and cash markets. December settled 1.45 lower at 165.20, and February was down 1.55 at 165.85.
Feeder cattle contracts settled 55 to 140 lower. Aggressive pressure in the nearby contracts created moderate to widespread pressure through the entire feeder cattle complex. Higher corn prices lent additional pressure to the feeder contracts. November settled 1.35 lower at 235.77, and January was down 1.40 at 230.20.
Feeder cattle receipts at the Philip Livestock Auction at Philip, SD totaled 9426 head. The market was uneven with steers 8.00 lower to 10.00 higher with the advance on 400. To 450 pound calves. Heifers were 8.00 lower to 2.00 higher. There was good demand for many long strings, load lots, and packages of feeder steers and heifers as well as several packages of replacement heifers. Feeder steers, medium and large 1 averaging 528 pounds brought 301.58 per hundredweight. 530 pound replacement heifers traded at 307.68.
Lean hogs settled 20 to 105 points lower. Several contracts did back away from sharp triple digit losses seen earlier in the day based on the firmness in pork values in the morning reports. December settled .85 lower at 87.12, and February was down 1.05 at 86.75.
Barrows and gilts in the Iowa/Minnesota direct trade were unchanged at 85.71 weighted average on a carcass basis, the West was up .04 at 85.65, and the East at 84.28 with no price comparison. Missouri direct base carcass meat price was steady from 75.00 to 81.00. Midwest hogs on a live basis were steady/weak to instances of 1.00 to 4.00 lower from 56.00 to 70.00.
The pork carcass cutout value was up .22 at 95.89 FOB plant in the afternoon report.
The national base price for lean dressed hogs held near steady again on Wednesday, further hinting that the worst of seasonal price pressure may be on its way out.
Wednesday’s hog slaughter was estimated at 428,000 head, 3,000 more than last week, but 5,000 less than last year.
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