Corn: December corn rallied 6 1/2 cents to $4.01 1/2, ending the session above the 10-day moving average. Rather surprisingly, corn futures were able to pull off a rally from a fresh near-term low forged early on, despite USDA printing a record yield and third highest production figure in late-morning trade.
Soybeans: November soybeans sunk 16 1/2 cents to $9.86, though strength in corn helped close prices off intraday lows. September meal futures plunged $5.70 to $3060. September bean oil dropped 94 points to 41.48 cents. Soybeans faced accelerated selling pressure following higher-than-expected production in today’s USDA reports.
Wheat: December SRW wheat fell 6 cents to $5.59 3/4 and near mid-range. December HRW wheat fell 7 cents to $5.63 1/2 and near mid-range. September spring wheat futures firmed 2 1/2 cents to $5.91 1/4. Today’s monthly USDA supply and demand report did not move the wheat futures markets much.
Cotton: December cotton rose 73 points to 69.07 cents, a low-range close after notching a near two-week intraday high early on. Cotton futures rallied to the highest intraday level since July 23, with a volley of friendly data from USDA allowing the natural fiber to extend gains.
Cattle: October live cattle fell $1.125 to $180.025 and near the session low. October feeder cattle closed down $2.05 at $237.725 and nearer the session low. Technical selling from the speculators was featured today as the chart postures for both live and feeder cattle futures markets have deteriorated recently.
Hogs: October lean hog futures firmed 35 cents to $74.325 and settled nearer session highs. August futures rose 22.5 cents to $90.025, while deferred contracts posted losses. Lean hog futures gapped lower this morning but grinded higher throughout today’s session, supported by rebounding wholesale pork values.