Monday's Closing Grain And Livestock Futures Prices
Mar. corn closed at $7.02 and 1/4, down 6 and 3/4 cents
Mar. soybeans closed at $14.31 and 1/2, down 21 cents
Mar. soybean meal closed at $413.00, down $9.40
Mar. soybean oil closed at 51.24, down 19 points
Mar. wheat closed at $7.41 and 1/2, down 14 and 3/4 cents
Feb. live cattle closed at $126.87, up 42 cents
Feb. lean hogs closed at $86.90, up 45 cents
Mar. crude oil closed at $97.03, up $1.31
Mar. cotton closed at 82.92, up 25 points
Feb. Class III milk closed at $17.20, down 4 cents
Feb. gold closed at $1,648.20, down $17.80
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 13,971.24, down 21.73 points
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Market ReCap and News.
Soybean futures are under pressure as the selling interest continues from Fridays session. Soybean meal is on the lows of the day while March beans are 2 cents above the lows put in on the overnight session. On Friday, overall OI in soybean futures contracts increased 2,308 contracts which included a 6,806 decrease in the March contract and 7,084 increase in May. The USDA Export Inspections report released this morning put soybean inspections at 30.123 MB, down from the 55.927 MB reported last week. To date inspections are running 240.036 MB ahead of the pace set last year. China imported 84.65% of the soybeans that were inspected. The USDA Long-term Projections put soybean production for 2013 at 3.3 billion bushels, up from 3 billion bushels in 2012. Chinese futures markets are closed as they celebrate the end of the Year of the Dragon and the start of the Year of the Snake.
Corn futures are trading lower at midday. According to the CME Final Report, OI on Friday dropped 19,369 contacts on corn futures. March was reduced 35,823 contracts while the May contract OI increased. The USDA Export Inspections report released this morning put corn inspections for the week ending last Thursday at 14.463 MB, up from 6.346 MB reported last week. China imported 44% of the corn shipped out of the US for the week, while Japan was the second biggest taker. The USDA released their Long-Term Projections on Monday. The US is expected to produce 14.435 billion bushels of corn in 2013, up from 10.725 billion bushels in 2012. The Dalian futures market in China is closed all week for their New Years holidays.
Wheat futures are trading lower on all three exchanges on Monday morning. Chi is experiencing the heaviest selling pressure with contracts 9-11 cents lower. Chicago wheat futures had an overall decrease of 374 contracts in OI, but the Mar Chi wheat had a 17,215 decrease which was partially offset from a 13,364 increase in the May contract. Wheat export inspections this morning were put at 22.452 MB, up from 15.345 MB reported last week and higher than the 18.95 reported last year. The USDA left projected US exports UNCH in the report on Friday, indicating they expect exports to pick up as the US remains the cheapest source in the world. Broken down, the inspections were 6.728 MB of HRS, 4.795 of HRW, 5.709 of SRW, and 5.119 of Soft white. The USDA Long Term Projection estimated wheat production would be 2.19 billion bushels, down slightly from 2.269 billion bushels the previous year.
Cattle futures opened higher, but quickly sold off with the Feb contract hitting a low of $125.75. Cattle futures are near $1 off the lows, while March feeder cattle are trading lower but nearly $1.50 off the lows of the session. Winter storms are expected to stretch across parts of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas which is helping support futures this morning. Boxed beef is mixed at midday with Choice up 27 cents while Select is down 54 cents. The Choice/Select spread is $3.31 on 90 loads. Cash cattle trade is expected to be at a standstill today, with live sales taking place last week at $125. Last weeks slaughter was estimated at 593K head, which is the smallest slaughter for a non-holiday week in roughly a year.
The Feb hog futures contract opened higher and has not looked back. April hogs are trading 75 cents off the lows of the day. Cash hogs are trading 96 cents lower in the ECB and are not reporting due to confidentiality in the WCB or IA/MN. Packers are approaching the cash market with caution to start the week off as pork sales continue to slow and margins are tightened. The carcass cutout on Friday was higher, which helped offset the losses from the previous 4 trading sessions. The USDA Long-Term Projections were released this morning, with US pork exports expecting to increase through 2022. For 2013, exports are projected to be 2,470 thousand metric tonnes compared to 2,471 thousand metric tonnnes in 2012 and 2,354 in 2011.
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