GRAIN CALLS
Corn: Steady to 2 cents higher.
Soybeans: 6 to 8 cents higher.
Wheat: Winter wheat steady to 2 cents higher; HRS 3 to 5 cents higher.
GENERAL COMMENTS: Soybeans led strength overnight with corn and wheat following modestly to the upside. Soybeans ended the overnight session right near key technical resistance, rendering the open doubly important as soybeans seem poised to set the tone across the grain complex today. Outside markets are mixed this morning as front-month crude oil futures are modestly lower while the U.S. dollar index is around 250 points lower.
President Donald Trump will impose a 25% tariff on top of previous duties on imports of finished vehicles starting April 3. The base U.S. tariff rate for automotive imports is 2.5%. The duties will be applied to cars and trucks built in countries that have free-trade agreements with the United States. They also will apply to major automotive parts imports, identified in Trump’s proclamation as “engines and engine parts, transmissions and powertrain parts and electrical components.” But parts duties may start up to a month later with a date to be set in a coming Federal Register notice, but not later than May 3. United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)-compliant automobile parts (such as engines, transmissions and electrical components) will remain tariff-free until Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, in consultation with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, establishes a process to apply tariffs to their non-U.S. content, according to the White House.
President Trump warned today he plans to impose additional “large-scale tariffs” on the European Union and Canada if they collaborate to do “economic harm” to the United States. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned Trump’s auto tariffs and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called them a “direct attack” and a violation of USMCA.
Export sales for the week ended March 20:
Corn: Net sales of 1.040 MMT for 2024-25 were down 31% from the previous week and steady with the four-week average. Increases came primarily for Japan and Mexico. Sales came in the middle of pre-report expectations ranging from 600,000 MT to 1.6 MMT.
Soybeans: Net sales of 338,500 MT for 2024-25 were down 4% from the previous week and 28% from the four-week average. Increases came primarily for Mexico, purchasing the bulk of the total. Sales were at the lower end of pre-report expectations from 300,000 to 900,000 MT.
Wheat: Net sales 100,300 MT for 2024-25 were up noticeably from last week’s net cancellations but still down from the four-week average. Sales were within expectations ranging from 0 to 550,000 MT.
CORN: May corn futures traded narrowly near unchanged overnight. Bulls are looking to tackle resistance at $4.55 1/4 then the 10-day moving average at $4.59 3/4. Support comes in at the psychological $4.50 mark then the March 4 low of $4.42 1/2.
SOYBEANS: May soybean futures bounced overnight. Bulls are looking to challenge the 10-day moving average at $10.08 1/4, which has capped most of the upside over the past month and a half. Additional resistance stands at $10.15. Support lies at the psychological $10.00 mark, which capped most of the downside yesterday, then $9.91.
WHEAT: May SRW futures are trading near contract lows. Bulls are seeking to hold prices above the contract low of $5.30, else a trip to the psychological $5.25 mark seems likely. Resistance stands at $5.41 then $5.44 1/2 on a bounce.
LIVESTOCK CALLS
CATTLE: Higher.
HOGS: Mixed.
CATTLE: Live cattle futures and feeders are expected to open higher on continued strength in cash fundamentals. Beef cutout continues to surge higher as Choice rose another $3.11 to $338.30, the fifth highest peak ever. Select climbed $2.48 Wednesday. Despite the three-day $12.85 surge in Choice beef, movement remains strong, totaling 140 loads yesterday. Cash cattle trade has had a slow start to the week, with just 519 head trading hands at $208.00 in Kansas. A potential “blow-off top” in cash cattle prices have traders wary of removing discounts to the cash market, which could limit gains after the open. USDA reported net beef sales of 8,000 MT for 2025, down 22% from the previous week and 43% from the four-week average.
HOGS: Lean hog futures are expected to open with a mixed tone as price action is likely to remain choppy ahead of this afternoon’s quarterly Hogs & Pigs Report from USDA. Traders will be keyed in on any potential revisions to past data in the report as first-quarter slaughter rates ran below levels implied in the December report. The CME lean hog index is up 23 cents to $89.13 as of March 25, continuing recent choppy price action. Pork cutout dropped $1.90 to $95.65 Wednesday, led by losses in bellies. Movement remained firm at 320.78 loads. USDA reported net pork sales of 31,900 MT for 2025, up 77% from the previous week and 13% from the four-week average.