Grain markets were able to stabilize following heavy pressure on Monday. Cattle grind higher and lean hogs put a bandage on yesterday’s wound.
Corn
March corn futures were able to snap a 4-day losing streak with futures finishing the day 1 1/2 cents higher to settle at 465 1/4. A strong move higher in oil (3.8%) coupled with a moderate recovery in soybeans may have helped offer some support in today’s trade.
Soybeans
March soybeans saw heavy pressure to start the year but were able to find their sea-legs today, not only holding ground but notching a 3 1/2 cent gain at the close, settling at 1277.
Bunge shut down a soybean crushing facility in Decatur, Indiana. There was an apparent issue with a natural gas pipeline that started last week and has affected the plant’s capacity to produce soy meal and other soybean byproducts. -Bloomberg
Wheat
March Chicago wheat futures finished the day 6 1/2 cents lower to settle at 600 1/4 cents, the lowest settlement since November 30th. Improving crop conditions across the Plains coupled with continued strength in the US Dollar were seen as headwinds. The US Dollar traded to its highest levels in over two weeks, reaching an intraday high of 102.42.0
(Bloomberg): Additional Ukrainian land is again available for farming from the territories that were demined within 2023, economy minister Yulia Svyrydenko said in an online statement.
208k hectares (over 800 square miles) have already been cleaned from explosives and provided to farmers, according to Svyrydenko
- “With the average wheat yield we had this harvesting season, almost a million tons of grain can be grown on the returned areas,” she said.
Live Cattle
It was a mixed bag in live cattle today with front month futures (February) 7 cents lower while the next most active contract (April) was able to finish 25 cents higher to 174.75. Daily cattle slaughter was estimated to be 128k head, up 3k from a week ago. That puts week to date slaughter at 254k head, a 12.9% increase week over week.
Feeder Cattle
Feeder cattle futures were mostly higher in today’s trade (with the exception of the May contract). The most actively traded March contract settled 57 cents higher to 227.025.
Lean Hogs
Lean hogs saw heavy pressure in yesterday’s trade. Although today was a weaker close, it was much more tamed. At the close February lean hogs were just 2 cents lower to settle at 65.30. Hog slaughter was reported at 483k head, putting week to date slaughter at 975k, up 3.8% week over week.