Friday’s Closing Grain and Livestock Futures
Mar. corn closed at $3.87, up 7 cents
Mar. soybeans closed at $9.91 and 3/4, up 3/4 cent
Mar. soybean meal closed at $326.20, down 50 cents
Mar. soybean oil closed at 33.39, up 40 points
Mar. wheat closed at $5.32 and 3/4, unchanged
Feb. live cattle closed at $154.45, up 25 cents
Feb. lean hogs closed at $74.50, down $1.12
Feb. crude oil closed at $48.69, up $2.44
Mar. cotton closed at 59.23, down 26 points
Feb. Class III milk closed at $14.43, down 5 cents
Feb. gold closed at $1,276.90, up $12.10
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 17,511.86, up 190.86 points
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Market News Recap
Soybeans were mostly lower on commercial activity, with March up and all other months down slightly. USDA says China has canceled on 285,000 tons of 2014/15 U.S. beans and there was no fresh supportive news. Forecasts for the next several days in northern Brazil do look hot and dry, but conditions in southern Brazil and Argentina look comparatively conducive. Soybean meal was lower and bean oil was higher on the adjustment of product spreads.
Corn was higher on fund and commercial buying. Unknown destinations picked up 101,600 tons of 2014/15 U.S. corn and domestic demand also looks solid. Corn has broken out of the recent higher trend and is looking for new direction, so Tuesday’s session should be very interesting, with markets closed on Monday. Ethanol futures were higher.
The wheat complex was mixed. Chicago steady to weak, failing to follow through on the early gains, while Kansas City and Minneapolis were up on relatively good commercial demand. The trade’s continuing to watch political and trade developments in the Black Sea region. That said – export demand for U.S. wheat is slow and the dollar was mostly higher. Egypt bought 240,000 tons of milling wheat from France.
The country was quiet on Friday afternoon following a few scattered deals in the morning in Kansas at 163.00 live and 262.00 dressed in Nebraska. Compared to last week cattle sold on a live basis 5.50 to 6.00 lower in the South plains. The North dressed cattle traded 5.00 to 6.00 lower. As of noon on Friday Slaughter cattle on a national basis for negotiated cash trades totaled about 16,980 head. The previous week’s total head count was 107,869. It looks like packers will be going into next week very short bought. The weekly cattle slaughter is estimated at 546,000 head, 8,000 more than the previous week, but 55,000 less than last year.
Boxed beef cutout values were sharply lower on light demand and moderate offerings. Choice beef was down 2.43 at 260.45, and select was 3.23 lower at 250.84.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle contracts settled mostly higher from 2 to 37 points. Even though there was very little to no longer term direction in the market, the moderate gains held in the complex. Short covering appeared to be the main incentive for the gains, but as seen earlier in the week, the potential of any buyer interest could easily spark widespread gains. Markets closed off the day’s highs after the report of lower boxed beef values at midday. February settled .25 higher at 154.25, and April was up .15 at 152.95.
Feeder cattle ended the session 155 lower to 77 higher. Traders continued to narrow the price spread between January and March contracts. This could add even more volatility in the market heading into next week. January settled 1.55 higher at 214.10 and March was up .75 at 204.85.
Feeder cattle receipts at Missouri auctions this week totaled 40,152 head. Compared to the previous week feeder steers and heifers sold 5.00 to 10.00 lower, with some spots of 15.00 lower on weights over 700 pounds. A few exceptions were noted on some calves from 450 to 550 pounds which sold steady to 5.00 higher, these were good quality calves with all the paper and favorable condition which are being bought to fill summer grass orders. The feeder supply at local auctions was moderate. 1715 head of feeder steers, medium and large 1 averaging 622 pounds brought 256.77 per hundredweight. 1172 heifers weighing 621 pounds traded at 227.91.
Lean hogs settled 65 to 157 points lower. The moderate to strong losses held through the morning trade with the lack of underlying support in both technical and fundamental markets limiting any new buyer support. This lack of support could continue to add pressure to the entire complex. February settled 1.12 lower at 74.50 and April was down .67 at 77.67.
There was slow hog market activity with light to moderate demand. Barrows and gilts in the Iowa/Minnesota direct trade closed .06 higher at 71.40 weighted average on a carcass basis, the west was down .03 at 71.28, and the East was not reported due to confidentiality. Missouri direct base carcass meat price was steady from 62.00 to 65.00. Midwest hogs on a live basis were 1.00 lower from 45.00 to 54.00.
The pork carcass cutout value was up .48 at 84.37 FOB plant.
The inability of the cash hog market to tap into seasonal strength makes it extremely difficult to shake the board’s bullish bias.
The weekly hog kill at 2,276,000 head is 133,000 more than last week, and 13,000 greater than last year.
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