Grain markets were mixed in today’s trade as traders anxiously await Friday’s quarterly stocks report. Livestock markets on the under hand were under heavy pressure as long liquidation pressured prices.
Grains
There was a little something for everyone in today’s grain trade.
Corn
At the close December corn futures were 1 ½ cents lower to settle at 479 ¾. All in all, that market remains mostly range bound which continues to present a lot of great shorter-term trading opportunities. Will that come to an end this week with Friday being end of month, end of quarter, and a USDA report? TBD. The sideways trade has volatility at low levels which may make them more appealing as either a hedge against futures or as an outright position.
Soybeans
November soybeans traded on both sides of unchanged today but finished the day on the positive side of that, up a nickel to 1302 ¾. This is right snack dab in the middle of our pivot pocket which we’ve outlined as 1300-1304. If the Bulls can chew through this pocket we would look at 1322-1328 as the next upside objective. A failure to defend $13.00 on a closing basis would neutralize this bias.
Wheat
December Chicago wheat futures finished the day unchanged at 589, so not a lot to report there on the technical landscape. We remain upbeat on upside potential, but the morale remains low.
Livestock
It was a sea of red in the livestock market with cattle being the anchor
Live Cattle
December live cattle futures finished the day 2.75 lower to settle at 188.47, the lowest settlement since September 13th and the breakout point from September 14th. A failure to hold ground here through the next few sessions could trigger additional selling pressure with the next downside objective being 186.15. One thing that we’ve said over the last several months is that despite the strong fundamental backdrop the thing that lives rent free in the back of my head is the fund length. Perhaps some of today’s weakness was funds trimming that length into the end of month and end of quarter.
Feeder Cattle
Like live cattle, feeder cattle also have a historically large net long position. The big difference in feeder cattle is that it is a thinner market than live cattle, meaning the exit door is narrower. November futures finished the day 5.82 lower to settle at 256.87, right at the 50 day moving average and the lowest close since September 5th.
Lean Hogs
On the snout side, December hogs were just 17 cents lower to settle at 72.35. Nothing new to report technically or fundamentally there.