Corn: May corn rose 3 cents to $4.34 1/4, ending nearer the session high. Corn futures favored the upside, though gains were limited by looming techincal resistance and sharp gains in the U.S. dollar following this morning’s stronger-than-expected Consumer Price Index (CPI) data.
Soybeans: May soybeans fell 9 3/4 cents at $11.64 3/4, nearer the session low and hit a four-week low. May soybean meal closed down $4.70 at $330.90 and near the session low. May bean oil rose 8 points at 47.60 cents, nearer the session high after notching a four-week low early on. The soybean and meal futures were pressured today due in part to a strong rally in the U.S. dollar index that hit a 4.5-month high after a hotter-than-expected U.S. consumer price index report.
Wheat: May SRW wheat rose 3/4 cent to $5.58 1/2, near the session low, while May HRW rallied 17 1/4 cents to $5.94 1/2 and marked the highest close in nearly a month. May HRS wheat rose 1/2 cent to $6.51 3/4. HRW wheat strength led wheat futures higher, though a surging U.S. dollar crimped gains as the session progressed.
Cotton: May cotton futures fell 73 points at 85.31 cents and near the session low. Prices hit a nine-week low today. The cotton futures bulls were absent today following a hotter-than-expected U.S. consumer price index report that prompted a sharp selloff in the U.S. stock indexes and sent the U.S. dollar index soaring to a 4.5-month high.
Cattle: Live cattle and nearby April feeder futures gave back a big portion of early-week gains, whereas deferred feeders dipped to fresh for-the-move lows. April live cattle dropped $1.625 to $179.075, while most-active June futures tumbled $2.00 to $172.85. Expiring April feeder futures dove $2.425 to $238.275, while the May contract plunged $3.925 to $236.525. Anticipation of sustained cash market losses sent cattle futures lower again Wednesday, although the live cattle contracts proved able to close above their lows posted last Friday.
Hogs: June lean hog futures plunged $3.025 to $105.55, though it closed off session lows. Expiring April futures rallied $1.15 to $91.75, settling on session highs. After opening higher this morning, lean hog futures underwent heavy selling pressure, quickly negating overbought conditions in the market.