GRAIN CALLS
Corn: Steady to 2 cents higher.
Soybeans: 6 to 8 cents higher.
Wheat: 2 to 8 cents higher.
GENERAL COMMENTS: Soybean futures rose to the highest prices in over a week, while corn and wheat also firmed in subdued narrow-range trade ahead of the upcoming holiday weekend. Malaysian palm oil futures surged 2.4% and hit a 12-day high on concerns over flood-related supply disruptions in the country. U.S. stock index futures signal a stronger open, while the U.S. dollar index is little changed.
Central parts of North America will experience extreme cold, which will “bring all kinds of problems,” World Weather Inc. said. Blizzard conditions are likely from the eastern U.S. Plains to the Great Lakes region tonight night into Friday. Snow will fall as far south as the Tennessee River Basin. Extreme low temperatures in the -30s and -20s Fahrenheit are likely in the Northern Plains. Subzero-degree low temperatures will occur southward to the Texas Panhandle, central Oklahoma, central Illinois and northern Indiana.
Argentina will get some needed rain Thursday into Sunday bringing relief to recent drying, “but more rain will still be needed and only temporary relief from dryness is expected,” World Weather said. Argentina’s late-month weather outlook “is expected to be unsettled, generating some periodic showers and thunderstorms, but resulting rainfall will still fail to seriously change drought conditions. Some rain from Argentina will reach into southern Brazil and Paraguay early next week, “but the relief from dryness will be a little erratic, leaving some areas with ongoing need for more rain.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit Washington today, using his first trip outside his homeland since it was invaded 300 days ago to urge Congress for sustained military and economic assistance. He will address a joint session of Congress this evening after meeting earlier in the day with President Joe Biden and top Cabinet and national security officials. Biden and Zelenskyy will hold a press conference as well.
High prices for crops and livestock are fueling a boom in the U.S. Farm Belt, making farmers, ranchers and agricultural companies rare winners as the broader American economy softens, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports. U.S. net farm income is expected to surge to $160.5 billion this year, boosted by increased prices for wheat, milk and other farm goods, according to a USDA forecast. If realized, farm income would reach the highest level since 1973 in inflation-adjusted dollars.
China’s state planner said on Wednesday it called a meeting of hog industry experts to ensure stable prices after recent excessive declines. According to experts the slump was due to a “temporary” period of weak consumption, it said, adding that there is no oversupply.
Iraq purchased 150,000 MT of milling wheat expected to be sourced from Australia.
CORN: March corn traded in a tight, three-cent range overnight within the previous session’s boundaries, after holding initial support at the 10-day moving average of $6.50 1/4.
SOYBEANS: March soybeans overnight reached $14.90 3/4, the contract’s highest intraday price since last week’s high at $14.92 on Dec. 13.
WHEAT: March SRW wheat traded within the previous session’s range overnight as the market extended the past week’s consolidation trade. Initial resistance is seen at the 40-day moving average pf $7.61 1/2.
LIVESTOCK CALLS
CATTLE: Steady-firmer
HOGS: Steady-mixed
CATTLE: Live cattle futures should remain supported by an outlook for tight supplies and firmness in the cash market. Beef plants have slowed slaughters and raised wholesale beef prices to boost cutting margins so they can be more aggressive with cash bids after the holidays, when they will need more supplies. Estimated cattle slaughter the first two days this week was 22,000 head behind week-ago and 17,000 less than last year. Choice beef cutout values rose $1.22 Tuesday to $265.05, the highest daily average since Nov. 3, on movement of 107 loads. February live cattle fell 47.5 cents Tuesday to $155.575.
HOGS: Lean hog futures face a mixed outlook amid uncertainty over whether the cash market is near a seasonal bottom. The CME lean hog index rose four of the past six days but is only 2 cents higher than Tuesdays’ low, which was the lowest level since Jan. 27. Given the holiday-shortened slaughter schedules over the next couple of weeks, a seasonal low in the cash index isn’t likely until sometime in early 2023 – unless packers need more supplies than cash sources anticipate. But even then, they are likely to delay actively bidding for hogs until after the holidays. February lean hog futures fell $1.45 Tuesday to $84.25.