GRAIN CALLS
Corn: 2 to 4 cents lower.
Soybeans: 10 to 13 cents lower.
Wheat: SRW steady to 2 cents higher; HRW steady to 2 cents lower; HRS 1 cent lower to 1 cent higher.
GENERAL COMMENTS: Corn and soybeans faced selling pressure overnight while wheat mostly traded near unchanged. Strong gains in the U.S. dollar, which is up over 550 points, limited buying interest in commodities overnight. Front-month crude oil futures continue to pull back from last week’s rally.
USDA reported daily sales of 264,000 MT of soybeans for delivery to China, 100,000 MT of corn for delivery to Colombia and 165,735 MT of corn for delivery to Mexico – each for delivery during the 2024-25 marketing year.
China asked domestic traders to buy less foreign grains as ample supplies and weaker-than-expected demand weigh on domestic prices and threaten its longstanding policy to support local growers. Beijing this week summoned top importers for meetings and suggested they halt purchases of barley and sorghum, people familiar with the situation told Bloomberg. Barley and sorghum shipments that have already been booked are not affected, and the new measures would likely impact arrivals from November and into the first quarter next year, said the people. They noted the majority of booked cargoes are for October and November delivery. Beijing manages overseas buying of corn and wheat under an annual tariff rate quota system, but there’s no official quota on barley and sorghum.
Germany’s wheat production is expected to fall 12.7% to 18.80 MMT due to poor weather, especially persistent late-season rains, the agriculture ministry said. Germany’s farmer associations previously forecast harvest reductions after unfavorable weather. Neighboring France also suffered severe wheat crop losses due to poor weather. France is the EU’s largest wheat producer, while Germany is No. 2.
Stats Canada estimated Canadian all wheat production at 34.4 MMT, up 4.3% from last year but lower than the 35.1 MMT analysts polled by Reuters expected. Canadian canola production is estimated at 19.5 MMT, up 1.6% from last year and roughly 300,000 MT higher than expected.
CORN: December corn futures traded modestly lower overnight. The 10-day moving average remains formidable resistance at $3.93 3/4. Strong support remains at $3.85.
SOYBEANS: November soybean futures gave up yesterday’s gain overnight. Bulls struggled to overcome the 20-day moving average at $9.92 1/2 which will remain stiff resistance. Additional resistance lies at $9.86 1/2. Support lies at $9.70 1/2 then $9.61 1/2 on continued selling pressure.
WHEAT: December SRW futures traded narrowly near unchanged overnight. Bulls are seeking to overcome initial resistance at $5.40 1/4 before tackling the 20-day moving average at $5.48 3/4. Support lies at $5.25 then the contract low of $5.20 3/4.
LIVESTOCK CALLS
CATTLE: Higher.
HOGS: Higher.
CATTLE: Live cattle futures and feeders are expected to open higher in a continuation of yesterday’s technical strength. October live cattle futures scored a bullish technical breakout with yesterday’s rally and bulls are seeking to build on yesterday’s strength. Cash cattle trade has been expectedly slow to start the week, with packers showing limited willingness to establish bids. While cutting margins are in the black, packers have purchased a lot of cattle with time and will have fresh contracted supplies at the flip of the calendar. Wholesale beef prices ended Tuesday mixed, with Choice sinking $3.93 to $311.97 and Select firming 6 cents to $300.25.
HOGS: Lean hog futures are expected to open higher on relative strength in cash fundamentals and technical buying. October lean hogs continue to show robust strength, scoring a 2.5-month high yesterday. Pork cutout firmed $1.07 to $96.05 yesterday as all cuts except ribs posted gains on the day. The CME lean hog index is down another 4 cents to $87.82 as of Aug. 26 – but that is the smallest daily decline since a one-day uptick on Aug. 14.