Corn: March corn rose a penny to $4.59 1/2, marking a high-range close. Corn futures extended to a fresh for-the-move high to begin the calendar year, though persisting gains in the U.S. dollar kept gains to a minimum across the ag complex.
Soybeans: March soybeans climbed 1 1/2 cents to $10.12 and closed nearer session highs. March meal futures rallied $3.00 to $319.90, nearer session highs. March bean oil fell 9 points to 40.27 cents. Soybeans opened lower on this morning’s cold open but found an early bottom and worked higher as the session went on.
Wheat: March SRW wheat fell 5 3/4 cents to $5.45 3/4, nearer the daily low. March HRW wheat fell 7 1/2 cents to $5.51 3/4 and nearer the session low. March spring wheat futures fell 6 1/4 cents to $5.89 1/2. A surging U.S. dollar index that today pushed to a more-than-two-year high worked to pressure wheat futures today.
Cotton: March cotton futures climbed 17 points to 68.57 cents but closed nearer session lows. Cotton futures saw some short covering early in the session but closed well off session highs today.
Cattle: February live cattle rose $2.00 to $193.60, nearer the session high and hit a nine-month high. March feeder cattle rose $3.225 to $266.20, nearer the session high and hit a contract high. Bullish cash market fundamentals rallied the cattle futures markets today.
Hogs: Hog futures stabilized Thursday in the wake of recent losses, but the nearby February contract lost another 15 cents to settle at $81.15. Ongoing ham weakness continued weighing on the hog and pork complex Thursday, but the modest early-morning decline in ham values was offset by strength in the other cuts.