Monday's Closing Grain and Livestock Futures Prices.
May corn closed at $6.42 and 1/4, down 53 cents
May soybeans closed at $13.90 and 3/4, down 14 cents
May soybean meal closed at $398.50, down $6.10
May soybean oil closed at 50.06, down 5 points
May wheat closed at $6.64, down 23 and 3/4 cents
Apr. live cattle closed at $128.75, down 15 cents
Apr. lean hogs closed at $81.30, up 70 cents
May crude oil closed at $97.07, down 16 cents
May cotton closed at 87.39, down 107 points
Apr. Class III milk closed at $17.12, down 14 cents
Apr. gold closed at $1,600.00, up $5.20
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 14,572.85, down 5.69 points
Market News and ReCap
Soybeans were mixed with old crop down on fund selling and new crop up on speculative buying. Nearby contracts saw continued pressure from slow export demand and spillover from corn. However, in the deferreds, there was at least some support from traders trying to buy back acreage ahead of widespread planting. Past that – the trade’s watching South American harvest and shipping activity with USDA’s monthly supply and demand update out April 10. Soybean meal and oil were mixed with nearbys down and deferreds up, mirroring beans.
Corn was lower on follow-through fund and commercial selling. Nearby contracts have taken an especially big hit from the bearish quarterly stocks figure last week and that may not let up for some time. That said – there was buying interest in new crop and there are possible planting delays in the South. Ethanol futures were lower. Dow Jones Newswires reports cash corn basis levels in central Illinois were higher Monday as farmers slowed down sales due to the drop in price. The Korea Feed Association bought 55,000 tons of optional origin corn and according to Dow Jones, Japan and South Korea are both expected to be in the market for more corn in the near future due to declining prices.
The wheat complex was lower on technical and commercial selling, in addition to spillover from corn. The Southern Plains continue to look at a generally dry weather pattern with a chance for rain at some point this week. In the first national weekly report of the season, USDA reports 34% of winter wheat is in good to excellent condition, compared to 58% a year ago, with Plains states in the worst shape. Dow Jones Newswires states South Korea is expected to buy around 450,000 tons of feed wheat in the coming weeks with prices more attractive to importers following the recent losses.