Corn: March corn rose 15 cents to $6.71, ending the session above the 10-, 20- and 40-day moving averages. Corn futures took a bullish turn following USDA’s release of its Jan. data which included quarterly stocks and final production estimates for the 2022-23 crop along with U.S. and global carryover, and updates to global production.
Soybeans: March soybeans rose 25 1/2 cents to $15.18 1/2 and nearer the session high. March soybean meal gained $6.70 to $481.30, nearer the daily high and hit a contract high. March bean oil closed up 114 points at 63.25 cents and nearer the session high. The soybean futures complex bulls got a friendly USDA monthly supply and demand report today.
Wheat: March SRW wheat rose 2 3/4 cents to $7.42 3/4, nearer the session high, while March HRW rose 12 3/4 cents to $8.35 and March spring wheat rose 13 cents to $9.12 1/4. The wheat markets traded cautiously ahead USDA’s Jan. reports despite supportive outside markets.
Cotton: March cotton futures closed down 222 points at 82.04 cents and near the session low. Cotton futures traders got a bearish monthly USDA supply and demand report today.
Cattle: Cash slippage again seemed to undercut cattle market bulls, as indicated by the 20-cent drop to $157.55 posted by nearby February live cattle. That weakness, along with big corn gains, sank feeder futures again; the most-active March contract fell $1.275 to $184.275. Pessimism about short-term price prospects apparently caused at least one Nebraska producer to take lower prices for his cattle Wednesday, with the three-day average for the five-market area dropping to $157.31, down 73 cents from the week-ago figure as a result.
Hogs: Hog futures continued their recent decline, as exemplified by the 55-cent drop in nearby February futures to $78.75. Cash hog and wholesale pork prices sustained their early-2023 breakdown Thursday.