Corn: July corn rose 2 3/4 cents to $4.72 1/2, notching a four-month high close. Corn futures extended Friday’s gains as spillover strength stemmed from strong gains in wheat futures.
Soybeans: July soybeans rose 1/2 cent to $12.19 1/2 and settled near mid-range. July meal futures sunk $5.40 to $366.50 and closed on session lows. July bean oil futures rallied 71 points to 45.15 cents and nearer session highs. Soybean futures saw skeptical followthrough buying following Friday’s strength, led by strength in the grain market.
Wheat: July SRW wheat rose 23 1/2 cents to $6.87, near the session high and hit a nine-month high. July HRW wheat closed up 26 3/4 cents at $7.00, near the session high and hit a seven-month high. July spring wheat futures firmed 18 1/4 cents to $7.38 1/4. The wheat futures markets were fueled today by global weather concerns and by speculator buying interest as the technical postures of the winter wheat futures markets have markedly improved.
Cotton: July cotton rose 32 points to 77.63 cents, forging a low-range close. Cotton posted modest gains to begin the week after notching the sixth weekly close lower on Friday.
Cattle: June live cattle closed down 57 1/2 cents at $175.575 and nearer the session low. August feeder cattle rose 45 cents to $251.35 and nearer the session low. The cattle futures markets bulls are still a bit squeamish to start the trading week, on lingering worries about consumer perceptions regarding the bird flu situation and beef.
Hogs: June lean hog futures sunk 90 cents to $97.475 and settled nearer session lows. Lean hog futures continued the recent trend of morning strength that is faded in the latter half of the session, closing lower and near recent lows.