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Soybean Futures Prices Take A Big Hit

Monday's Closing Grain + LIvestock Futures Prices

Sep. corn closed at $3.60, down 5 and 1/2 cents
Sep. soybeans closed at $11.25 and 3/4, down 40 and 1/4 cents
Sep. soybean meal closed at $406.10, down $27.20
Sep. soybean oil closed at 32.74, up 38 points
Sep. wheat closed at $5.42 and 1/2, down 9 and 1/2 cents
Aug. live cattle closed at $152.75, up 90 cents
Oct. lean hogs closed at $93.45, up 57 cents
Oct. crude oil closed at $93.35, down 30 cents
Dec. cotton closed at 66.15, down 3 points
Sep. Class III milk closed at $23.75, up 22 cents
Aug. gold closed at $1,277.30, down $1.30
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 17,076.87, up 75.65 points

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Ag Market News and Commodity Comments

Soybeans were lower on speculative and commercial selling, with November notching a new contract low. There was more rain in parts of the Midwest over the weekend and the trade is expecting a very large, if not record, crop. USDA reports 90% of soybeans are at the pod setting stage, compared to 89% on average, with 70% of beans rated good to excellent, down 1% on the week. Soybean meal was lower and bean oil was higher, adjusting product spreads.

Corn was lower on fund and speculative selling. Corn was also assessing that weekend rainfall and expecting a probable record crop this year. According to the Ag Department, 83% of corn is at the dough making stage, compared to 78% on average, but 35% has dented, compared to 43% on average. 73% of corn is called good to excellent, up 1% from a week ago. Ethanol futures were lower. Colombia bought 120,000 tons of U.S. corn and Costa Rica picked up 113,673 tons, both new crop. The wheat complex was lower on fund and technical selling.

Wheat’s fundamentals remain bearish, largely due to the world supply, but there are concerns about quality in some areas. USDA states 27% of the spring wheat crop is harvested, compared to 49% on average due to rain in the Northern Plains, and 66% of the crop is in good to excellent condition, down 2% from last week.

 

The cattle kill last week totaled 590,000 head, larger than has been seen in several weeks, suggesting packers managed to somehow source plenty of cattle. If feedlot managers were forced to carryover a large number of unsold cattle, it may also be true that packers find themselves quite short bought. The new showlists appear to be mixed in size, larger in Colorado, smaller in Kansas and Nebraska and about steady in Texas. Overall the late month offering appears somewhat smaller. The Monday kill at 116,000 head, is 8,000 more than last week and steady with last year.

Boxed beef cutout values ended steady to weak on light demand and light to moderate offerings. Choice boxed beef was down .08 at 249.69 and select was .59 lower at 239.07.

Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle contracts settled 90 to 145 points higher. Aggressive live cattle buying quickly developed in the futures market on Monday. Follow through buying and short covering were the main features. With triple digit gains holding into the close, there was expectation additional buyer support may continue to develop through the first half of the week. The August contract expired at noon at 152.75 up .90, October was 1.15 higher at 148.15.

Feeder cattle settled 130 to 247 higher. Strong triple digit gains held through the feeder cattle complex with traders embracing the tightest supply of cattle available in the market. The expectation is supplies will continue to tighten through the end of the year, which could limit long term beef demand even further than seen already, August went off the board 1.30 higher at 217.40, and September settled at 213.27 up 2.37.

Feeder cattle receipts at the Oklahoma National Stockyards on Monday totaled 5200 head. Compared to last week, all classes of feeder cattle and calves traded steady in the early rounds. Demand was called moderate to good. Feeder steer calves medium and large 1 weighing 575 pounds brought 252.00 per hundredweight. 545 pound heifer calves traded at 244.50.

Lean hogs settled 57 to 110 higher as strong gains redeveloped throughout the morning with triple digit gains in deferred 2015 contract months. Nearby gains were somewhat limited by a lack of additional direction from market fundamentals. October settled .57 higher at 93.145 and December was up .85 at 88.00.

Barrows and gilts in the Iowa/Minnesota direct trade closed 1.02 lower with a weighted average of 94.17 on a carcass basis. The West was down .89 at 94.11, and Eastern markets were 1.88 lower at 92.34. Missouri direct base carcass meat price closed steady to 8.00 lower from 86.00 to 95.00.

The pork carcass cutout value ended .92 lower at 102.69 FOB plant.

The monthly cold storage report released on Friday indicated slower June-to-July drawdown for both frozen pork and beef than expected. This may represent another sign of weakening red meat demand.

The Monday hog slaughter was estimated at 414,000 head, 12,000 more than last week, but 12,000 less than last year.

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