After the Bell | April 1, 2022

Soybeans, wheat and hogs all posted poor technical performances this week.

Pro Farmer's After the Bell
Pro Farmer’s After the Bell
(Farm Journal)

Corn: Corn futures traded mixed to end the week, with nearby May futures falling 13 3/4 cents to $7.35 and December futures rising 4 1/4 to $6.88. May corn dropped 19 cents for the week, while December corn firmed 19 cents. Traders actively unwound bull spreads the final two days this week.

Soybeans: May soybean futures closed the day down 35 1/2 cents at $15.82 3/4, hitting a five-week low, and for the week tumbled $1.27 1/2. May soybean meal futures hit a four-week low and closed down $17.50 at $450.00 and on the week lost $37.90. May soybean oil futures rebounded from a five-week low earlier to finish 126 points higher at 71.20 cents and for the week fell 355 points. May and July contracts for soybeans and soymeal posted technically bearish downside breakouts this week.

Wheat: Wheat futures finished on or near session lows. May SRW wheat fell 21 1/2 cents to $9.84 1/2 today and plunged $1.17 3/4 for the week. May HRW wheat dropped 16 3/4 cents to $10.13, which was down 97 3/4 cents for the week. May HRS wheat declined 14 1/4 cents to $10.65 1/4 and was down 39 cents for the week. Winter wheat futures posted technical downside breakouts this week.

Cotton: May cotton futures dropped 114 points to 134.55 cents to end the week. That marked a weekly loss of 135 points for the week. Pressure came from outside markets, particularly heavy selling in front-month crude oil futures and growing concerns about a recession.

Cattle: Live cattle and feeder cattle futures continued Thursday’s declines, with nearby April live cattle sliding 72.5 cents to $138.65 and most-active June falling 1.275 cents to $135.85. Those represent weekly losses of $1.825 and $1.525, respectively. May feeder futures sagged 42.5 cents to $166.125, thereby marking a weekly decline of 87.5 cents.

Hogs: June lean hog futures closed down 17 1/2 cents at $120.45 and near the session low. For the week, June hogs lost $5.40. April hogs closed down 45 cents at $101.30. June lean hog futures closed at a technically bearish weekly low close today after Thursday producing a bearish “key reversal” down.