Corn, soybeans, and wheat futures were all sharply lower early in Monday’s trade as selling picked up ahead of this week’s reports.
Grains were relatively quiet in the overnight and early morning trade, but rolled over on the 8:30 open as more active sellers stepped in.
Corn
March corn futures finished the day 5 ¾ cents lower to settle at 455, that was 3 cents off the low (a new contract low). Today marked the 6th lower close in the last 8 sessions which has taken about 25 cents off prices. This morning’s weekly export inspections report came in at 856,597 MT (33,722,724 bushels). Within the range of estimates and above last week’s 570k MT.
Soybeans
March soybean futures traded on both sides of unchanged on Sunday evening but rolled over hard on this morning’s open, trading down to an intraday low of 1236. The market was able to recover about half of those losses settling 10 ¾ cents lower to 1245 ½, the lowest settlement since June 14th and the sixth lower close in the last seven sessions. The New Crop contract (November) dipped below the psychologically significant $12.00 level, marking an intraday low of 1193 ¼, but recovered to settle at $12.02. This morning’s weekly export inspections report came in at 674,749 MT (24,792,774 bushels). Below the low end of estimates and below last week’s 969k MT.
Wheat
March Chicago wheat futures were the leader to the downside today, settling 19 ¾ cents lower to 596 ¼. This morning’s weekly export inspections came in at 491,074 MT (18,043,875 bushels). Above the top end of estimates and well above last week’s 276k MT.
Live Cattle
The early morning trade looked promising for live cattle, but the initial strength fell flat within the first hour of trade. At the close February live cattle were 62 cents lower to settle at 169.95, that was $3.30 off the session high. April futures saw a similar reversal but were able to minimize losses for the day to 37 cents, settling at 173.02.
Feeder Cattle
Feeder cattle saw a similar pop and drop in the first two hours of trade but were able to hang on to small gains into the close. March futures finished the day 92 cents higher to settle at 225.07. The next most actively traded contract, April, finished the day 32 cents higher to 230.10.
Lean Hogs
On the snout side, it was a bit of a rollercoaster day too, with prices establishing the day’s range in the first 2 ½ hours of trade. After trading on both sides of unchanged, February futures finished the day at the upper end, settling 60 cents higher to 70.60. April futures finished the day 1.15 higher to settle at 77.52.