Tuesday's Closing Grain and Livestock Futures Prices
Sep. corn closed at $3.74, down 7 and 1/2 cents
Aug. soybeans closed at $11.80 and 1/2, down 16 and 1/2 cents
Aug. soybean meal closed at $379.10, down $9.50
Aug. soybean oil closed at 36.90, up 2 points
Sep. wheat closed at $5.37 and 3/4, unchanged
Aug. live cattle closed at $148.57, up 77 cents
Jul. lean hogs closed at $133.87, up 50 cents
Aug. crude oil closed at $99.96, down 95 cents
Oct. cotton closed at 68.66, down 14 points
Aug. Class III milk closed at $21.02, up 5 cents
Aug. gold closed at $1,297.10, down $9.60
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 17,060.68, up 5.26 points
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Agri Markets News Review
Soybeans were steady to lower on fund and commercial selling. Temperatures have cooled down quite a bit, but conditions look pretty good and near term forecasts are dry. China did buy 120,000 tons of new crop U.S. beans, which helped November and January close unchanged. Soybean meal was down, following beans and corn, while oil was up on the adjustment of product spreads and technical buying. The NOPA member crush number for June was smaller than expected.
Corn was lower on fund and technical selling. Corn’s also watching the weather and development conditions look good for most of the Midwest, with 76% of the crop in good to excellent condition nationally. There’s a lot of talk about a bigger yield estimate in August’s USDA numbers, but there’s still a lot of uncertainty at this point. Past that – there was just no fresh news and the fundamentals look negative. Ethanol futures were lower.
The wheat complex was mixed. Chicago was mostly firm, looking oversold and expecting some new demand. Kansas City and Minneapolis were down on forecasts for good harvest and crop development weather in the Plains. In any event, the fundamentals are bearish and the world supply is ample, so even with the recent drop in price, sustained new demand may be a challenge. Canada’s prairies are seeing a dry, cool pattern right now, with warmer and wetter weather expected this weekend. The trade’s also keeping an eye on harvest delays in parts of Europe.
It was a typical Tuesday in cattle country with trade slow to start. Private sources did report a few scattered bids in Texas at 152.00, business potential was at a standstill. A few asking prices have been suggested around 158.00 in the South and 248.00 to 250.00 in the North. Chances are significant trade volume will not develop until sometime on Thursday or Friday. The kill was estimated at 116,000 head, 1,000 below last week and 8,000 less than 2013.
Boxed beef cutout values were weak to lower on light demand and moderate offerings. Choice beef was down .61 at 250.53, and select was .96 lower at 243.46.
Live cattle contracts settled 25 to 100 points higher after bouncing back and forth through the morning with traders focusing on the lack of depth of buyer interest. Traders were torn between technical bearishness on one hand and cash premiums on the other. August settled .77 higher at 148.57 and October was up 1.00 at 151.85.
Feeder cattle finished the session 27 points lower to 110 higher. Triple digit gains quickly developed early on Tuesday morning giving the impression active buyer support was waiting to step into the market. But early buyer interest quickly subsided allowing prices to move to light to moderate gains. Only winter 2015 contracts ended moderately lower. Lower corn futures values were also supportive to the complex. August settled .85 higher at 211.52 and September was up .70 at 211.82.
Feeder cattle receipts at the Joplin Regional Stockyards totaled 4026 head on Monday. Compared to last week, steer calves were 5.00 to 15.00 lower, yearling steers trended 5.00 lower. Heifer calves and yearling heifers traded steady to 5.00 lower. The demand and supply was moderate. Feeder steers medium and large 1 with an average weight of 672 pounds brought 226.67 per hundredweight. 666 pound heifers averaged 206.93.
Lean hogs ended the session 72 points higher to 45 lower. Nearby contracts were able to hold gains as traders remained focused on the need to gain access to market ready hogs through the remainder of the summer and early fall months. There will likely be a strong shift in expected supplies over the next several weeks, which could keep prices in a volatile range according to DTN analysts. July futures expired at 133.87 up .50, August was .37 higher at 130.72, and October settled at 115.95 up .22.
Barrows and gilts in the Iowa/Minnesota direct trade were .51 lower at 132.18 weighted average on a carcass basis, the West was .88 lower at 131.80, and the Eastern trade was not reported due to confidentiality. Missouri direct base carcass meat price was steady from 120.00 to 122.00. Barrows and gilts at Midwest markets closed steady from 86.00 to 94.00 live.
The pork carcass cutout value was .33 higher at 135.18 FOB plant. All cuts were higher with the exception of bellies and ribs.
Pork processing margins are definitely on the slide as the cost of live hogs steadily firms and the carcass value struggles. Since discounted lean futures suggest that larger hog supplies are not that far away, packers may stand on production brakes especially hard, attempting to gain better leverage and possibly back up more market numbers.
Tuesday’s hog kill was estimated at 397,000 head 6,000 less than last week and last year.
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