Corn: March corn rose 1 1/2 cents to $6.79 after trading below the 20- and 100-day moving averages that have converged around $6.74 1/4. Corn futures succumbed early to U.S. dollar strength along with weakness in the soy complex as traders monitored political tensions between the U.S. and China and news regarding the size of the South American crop.
Soybeans: March soybeans fell 10 3/4 cents to $15.21 1/4. March soymeal dropped $7.50 to $489.00. March soyoil firmed 25 points to 59.31 cents. Traders took profits out of the long side of the markets in both soybeans and soymeal today, while they also unwound long meal/short soyoil spreads in corrective trade to kick off the week.
Wheat: March SRW fell 6 1/2 cents to $7.50 1/4, ending the session below the 10- and 40-day moving averages, while March HRW rose 3 cents to $8.76 and March spring wheat dropped 4 cents to $9.17 1/2. SRW wheat futures lacked buying interest as the U.S. dollar marched higher, making the U.S. less competitive in the global market while Russian wheat prices tumbled in the wake of a record harvest and stocks.
Cotton: March cotton futures ended low-range at 83.25 cents, down 216 points on the day. Concerns about fallout from the U.S. downing of the Chinese surveillance balloon over the weekend triggered selling in the cotton market today.
Cattle: April live cattle rose 35 cents to $164.475, nearer the session high and hit another contract high. March feeder cattle gained $1.60 to $187.70, nearer the session high and hit a four-week high. The cattle market bulls are out of the gate in strong fashion to start the trading week, amid bullish cash market fundamentals.
Hogs: April lean hogs fell $3.75 to $82.725, nearer the session low and hit a 13-month low. The lean hog futures market bulls ran for cover today on worries about further deteriorating U.S.-China relations after the U.S. shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon over the weekend, and on fully bearish near-term technicals.