Corn: July corn rose 4 1/4 cents to $4.58 1/2, closing near the session high and above the 40-day moving average. Corn futures edged higher for the second straight day, with support stemming mostly from a rally in soybean futures, while modest gains in SRW wheat also lent support.
Soybeans: July soybean futures surged 12 1/4 cents to $11.89 1/2 and settled near session highs. July meal futures settled $8.1 higher to $368.3, on session highs. July bean oil firmed 7 points to 43.86 cents. Soybeans and soymeal both saw gains today, extending into the upper end of the recent sideways range.
Wheat: July SRW wheat rose 3 cents at $6.20 and near mid-range. July HRW wheat fell 1/2 cent at $6.67 3/4, near mid-range and hit a five-week low early on. July spring wheat futures fell 1 1/4 cent. To $6.67. The winter wheat futures markets today saw some tepid short covering following the recent long losing streak.
Cotton: July cotton futures sunk 39 points to 71.35 and settled on session lows. July cotton futures continue to fall under pressure as demand for old-crop is limited, though new crop futures saw modest gains today.
Cattle: August live cattle rose $1.175 to $179.50. August feeder cattle fell 10 cents to $257.475. Prices closed near their session highs. The cattle futures markets today put in a mixed performance as traders await cash cattle trading to commence in earnest this week.
Hogs: Wholesale weakness seemed to undercut hog futures Thursday. The expiring June contract slipped 27.5 cents to $91.75, while most-active August futures fell $1.35 to $88.60. As expected, the latest official quote for the hog index, for Tuesday, inched up 6 cents to $91.38, while the index calculation based on USDA data puts Wednesday’s preliminary figure up another 20 cents to $91.58.