Corn: May corn futures rose 1 1/4 cent to $7.57 3/4. December corn rose 4 1/4 cents to $7.09. The corn market extended a sideways grind ahead of tomorrow’s USDA Supply & Demand Report, which may reflect impact of Russia’s war with Ukraine. USDA is expected to lower its production estimate for Argentina’s corn crop and raise its forecast for Brazil’s. Argentina’s corn crop is expected to be near 52 MMT, down from 53 MMT in the USDA March estimate, based on a Reuters survey. Brazil’s corn crop is seen up, at around 115 MMT from 114 MMT reported last month.
Soybeans: May soybeans rose 26 cents to $16.45 1/2, the contract’s highest close since March 30. May soymeal fell $1.60 to $460.20, while May soyoil rose 119 points to 73.02 cents, near a two-week high. Soybeans climbed to the highest closing price in over a week after Brazil-based consultancy Conab trimmed its forecast for the country’s soybean crop below USDA’s March projection. USDA will likely make further cuts to its South American soybean estimates in tomorrow’s Supply & Demand Report.
Wheat: May SRW wheat fell 18 1/4 cents to $10.20. May HRW wheat fell 14 1/4 cents to $10.70 3/4. May spring wheat fell 9 1/4 cents to $10.99 1/2. Wheat futures were pressured by U.S. dollar strength and expectations for beneficial precipitation for drought-stressed crops in the U.S. Plains. Showers and thunderstorms are expected to increase in parts of the main HRW growing areas in the week ahead.
Cotton: May cotton futures dropped 249 points to 133.20 cents, the contract’s lowest settlement since March 24. December cotton futures rose 19 points to 114.69 cents. Traders continued to unwind bull spreads in the cotton futures. USDA reported weekly old-crop cotton sales at 62,900 running bales, a marketing-year low and down sharply from the four-week average.
Cattle: June live cattle futures slipped 12.5 cents to $134.10, though other contracts ended with modest gains. May feeder futures declined 47.5 cents to $159.475. Live cattle continued to find support as recent wholesale beef market strength suggested improving retailer demand. Choice cutout values gained 36 cents today to $271.40, though movement was lighter than recent days at 94 loads. USDA-reported live steers averaged $138.72 this week through this morning, down 60 cents from last week’s average.
Hogs: June lean hogs fell 55 cents to $114.15, the contract’s seventh decline in the past eight sessions. Hog futures resumed a recent decline as cash fundamentals continued to slip. The next CME lean hog index is expected to decline 40 cents to $100.68, a drop of $2.98 over the past six days, but the benchmark is still $1.63 above nearby April futures. Pork cutout values fell $1.26 to $103.11, near a three-week low and led by a drop of nearly $13 in bellies. Movement totaled 252 loads.