Corn: May corn fell 5 1/2 cents to $4.28 3/4, marking a low-range close. Mild pre-report gains faded into USDA’s monthly Supply & Demand update this morning, with heavier losses ensuing as traders processed the data.
Soybeans: May soybean futures fell 5 1/2 cents to $11.59 1/4 though settled well off session lows. May meal futures surged $4.70 to $335.6, settling near session highs. May bean oil futures plunged 158 points to 46.02 cents. Selling pressure in soybeans found little relief following this morning’s USDA report as prices continue to trend lower on the daily bar chart.
Wheat: May SRW wheat fell 6 3/4 cents to $5.51 3/4 and nearer the session low. May HRW wheat closed down 11 1/4 cents at $5.83 1/4 and near the session low. May spring wheat futures plunged 14 3/4 cents to $6.37. Losses in the corn and soybean futures markets today spilled over into selling pressure in wheat markets.
Cotton: May cotton futures dropped 194 points to 83.37 cents, marking the lowest close since Jan. 17. Cotton futures closed lower for the third consecutive session with selling accelerating after the report this morning.
Cattle: June live cattle rose $1.05 to $173.90 and nearer the session high. May feeder cattle gained $1.625 at $238.15 and nearer the session high after hitting a three-month low early on. The cattle futures markets saw short covering today following recent losses.
Hogs: Expiring April lean hog futures slipped 30 cents to $91.45 Thursday, while most-active June posted a 25-cent bounce from Wednesday’s big breakdown, closing at $105.80. Seasonal strength continued dominating the hog and pork complex Thursday. As expected, Tuesday’s official quote for the CME hog index climbed 90 cents to $88.78.