Corn: December corn rose 3 1/2 cents to $4.83 1/4, the highest close since Sept. 11. Corn futures edged higher for the fourth straight session, with notable strength in crude oil futures lending solid price support.
Soybeans: November soybeans rose 1/2 cent to $13.03 1/4 and nearer the session low. December soybean meal fell $3.60 to $389.10 and nearer the session low. December bean oil closed up 53 points at 58.24 cents and nearer the session high. The narrowly mixed closes in the soybean complex futures today reflected tepid-at-best buying interest from the bulls amid keener risk-off attitudes in the general marketplace, as it appears likely the U.S. government will shut down, at least temporarily, this weekend.
Wheat: December SRW futures fell 9 1/2 cents before closing at $5.79 1/2, on session lows. December HRW futures made a two-year low, falling 16 cents to $6.94 1/2. December spring wheat futures fell 15 3/4 cents to $7.50 3/4. Wheat futures struggled to hold onto overnight gains as the U.S. dollar index continues to surge higher and technical selling overpowers dip buyers.
Cotton: December cotton rose 12 points to 88.30 cents, ending nearer the session low. Prices hit a three-week high early on. The cotton futures market saw mild support today from surging crude oil futures prices that hit a 13-month high today.
Cattle: October live cattle futures ended Wednesday having inched up 10 cents to $184.90, while the Deferred contracts declined. October feeder futures tumbled $1.625 to $252.25, with deferred futures posting larger losses. Pessimism about the cattle outlook persisted Wednesday, thereby seeming to reflect the implications of continued gains in the value of the U.S. dollar and another sizeable drop in the equity indexes.
Hogs: October lean hog futures rallied 50 cents before ending the day at $82.125, nearer the intraday low. Lean hog futures pushed higher on Wednesday, though recent corrective buying is likely to give way as fundamentals continue to deteriorate.