Corn: March corn rose 4 cents to $6.41 1/2 after earlier falling as low as $6.35, a 3 1/2-month low. Corn turned higher on corrective buying and spillover from gains in wheat markets.
Soybeans: January soybeans rose 17 cents to $14.72, the contract’s highest close since Sept. 20. January soymeal surged $10.40 to $459.00, a lifetime-high close for the contract. January soyoil fell 66 points to 60.96 cents, the contract’s lowest close since Sept. 30. Soybeans were boosted as soymeal rallied, recent China purchases fueled demand optimism and concern over dryness in Argentina.
Wheat: March SRW wheat rallied 21 1/2 cents to $7.27. March HRW wheat gained 18 3/4 cents to $8.48 3/4. March spring wheat rose 6 cents to $9.02. SRW wheat rose for the first time in five sessions on short covering and technical buying following the market’s drop to 14-month lows earlier this week.
Cotton: March cotton fell 276 points to 81.83 cents, the contract’s lowest close since Nov. 29. Cotton was pressured by risk-off attitudes in the broader market as U.S. equity benchmarks and crude oil tumbled.
Cattle: February live cattle slipped 7.5 cents to $153.55, the contract’s lowest close since Nov. 15. January feeder futures fell 90 cents to $180.90. Live cattle recovered much of an early downturn behind a strength in wholesale beef prices and a longer-term outlook for cash strength. A month-long drop in wholesale beef appears to have spurred renewed demand. Choice beef cutout values surged $6.31 to $248.96 on strong movement of 174 loads.
Hogs: February lean hogs fell 27.5 cents to $86.65, the contract’s lowest close since Nov. 30, while deferred futures posted modest gains. The market was supported by indications a seasonal cash market decline is bottoming out. However, wholesale pork resumed a recent slide, as the cutout average plunged $5.37 to an 11-month low at $84.45, driven by a drop of over $20 in bellies.