Corn: May corn futures rose 7 1/4 cents to settle at $6.20 3/4, near the daily high. Corn futures showed strength all of today’s day session but stalled right at $6.20 in the May contract for most of the day.
Soybeans: May soybeans rose 2 1/2 cents to $14.93 3/4, nearer the session high after hitting a two-week low early on. May soybean meal gained $1.90 at $481.20 and near the session high. May bean oil rose 32 points to 56.18 cents and closed near mid-range. Soybean complex futures saw some mild support today from decent gains in corn and wheat futures prices.
Wheat: May SRW futures closed 11 3/4 cents higher at $6.96 1/4. May HRW futures rose 17 1/4 cents and settled at $8.17 3/4, near the day’s high. Spring wheat futures rose 17 2/4 cents and closed at $8.50, near the top of today’s range. Wheat futures showed continued strength today after Friday’s near-term bottom.
Cotton: May cotton rose 19 points to 81.37 cents and near mid-range. The cotton futures market saw slight follow-through buying interest today after the daily-limit-gains posted Monday.
Cattle: April live cattle futures fell 50 cents to $163.05 Tuesday, while most-active April feeder futures dropped 90 cents to $189.925. The cattle and beef situation remains extremely tight. Packers reportedly bought more cattle than they expected last week, especially after gathering large numbers the week before.
Hogs: Nearby April lean hog futures ended Tuesday 82.5 cents lower at $85.40. The deferred contracts posted somewhat larger losses. The seasonal rises in cash and wholesale prices continue, but the advance is clearly proving quite slow at this juncture.