Friday's Closing Grain and Livestock Futures
May corn closed at $4.79, up 1/2 cent
May soybeans closed at $14.08 and 3/4, down 25 cents
May soybean meal closed at $455.60, down $10.60
May soybean oil closed at 41.02, down 29 points
May wheat closed at $6.93 and 1/4, down 10 and 1/2 cents
Apr. live cattle closed at $144.00, down 42 cents
Apr. lean hogs closed at $125.67, up 87 cents
May crude oil closed at $99.46, up 56 cents
May cotton closed at 93.31, up 113 points
Apr. Class III milk closed at $23.53, up 48 cents
Apr. gold closed at $1,336.00, up $5.50
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 16,305.14, down 25.91 points
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Market News Update:
Soybeans were lower on fund and technical selling. The trade remains very uncertain about Chinese demand and there was no real fresh news. However, even with beans posting losses for the day, they still had a solid gain on the week. The trade’s watching weather around South America, with some harvest delays expected over the near term. Soybean meal and oil were lower, following beans. According to China’s Ministry of Customs, February soybean imports were 4,808,276 tons, up 68% on the year, with the U.S. accounting for 4,634,315 tons of the total.
Corn was mixed in consolidation trade. Egypt did buy 340,000 tons of old crop U.S. corn, supporting nearbys, but there’s a lot of corn available right now, limiting gains. Past that – corn’s also watching harvest in South America, with Argentina around 7% complete. Ethanol was mostly higher. According to China’s Ministry of Customs, February corn imports were 479,758 tons, a nearly 22% increase from February 2013, with the U.S. making up a little less than half of the total at 205,776 tons.
The wheat complex was lower on fund and technical selling. There’s still a lot of uncertainty tied to the situation in Ukraine, but no real fresh news. The trade does have concerns about weather around the Southern U.S. Plains. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada left its 2014/15 all wheat production estimate at 29.3 million tons. USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation bought 58,100 tons of soft white winter for Bangladesh and 15,200 tons of soft white winter for Afghanistan. According to China’s Ministry of Customs, wheat imports for February were 578,794 tons, 160% larger than last year, with the U.S. accounting for 249,247 tons of the total.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures were mostly lower Friday. The trade was expecting a bearish cold storage report, indicating increased supplies in the coming months, and pretty much got what they were expecting. Placements were up 15% on the year, at the high end of estimates, with a number of those heavier weight cattle. Cold storage numbers on beef were lower than anticipated. April was down $.42 at $144 and June was $.07 lower at $136.12.
Feeder cattle futures were higher, supported by the mostly lower corn and pre-report position squaring. March was up $1.40 at $175.02 and April was $.62 higher at $175.27.
Direct cash cattle business was pretty slow to develop Friday, with both sides waiting for the cattle on feed report and then digesting the numbers. Sales were higher than the previous week, with trade at $150 Live in Texas and Kansas and $152 Live in Iowa and Nebraska. Dressed business in the North was light to moderate and ranged from $240 to $243, steady to $3 higher than the previous week. That Live trade in the South was light and steady with Thursday.
At the feeder cattle auction in Dunlap, Iowa, steers weighing 450 to 650 pounds and heifers from 450 to 600 pounds were up $10 to $15. 650 to 800 pound steers were $3 to $4 higher, but Heifers 600 to 750 pound heifers were $1 to $3 lower. Supply was moderate with good demand. Half of the offering was steers, the other half heifers, and cattle weighing more than 600 pounds accounted for 49% of all sold. 500 to 600 pound steers sold at $214 to $229 and 500 to 600 pound heifers ranged from $187 to $213.
Boxed beef was lower on very light demand and light offerings. Choice was down $1.41 at $240.16 and Select was $1.11 lower at $233.66. The estimated slaughter of 110,000 head was up 1,000 on the week, but down 1,000 on the year.
Lean hog futures were mostly lower on profit taking and position squaring ahead of the cold storage report. The exception was nearby April, which established a new all-time high for a front month contract. The trade’s still expecting a significant supply impact from PEDv, but they were also interested in taking profits. April was $.87 higher at $125.67 and May was $.22 lower at $126.27.
Direct hog hogs were sharply higher due to those tight market ready numbers, with the national market up $2.91 at $118.59 to $130, for an average of $125.74. The Eastern Cornbelt was $2.63 higher at $118.59 to $126, with an average of $120.80. The Western Cornbelt was up $2.53 at $122 to $130, for an average of $128.15. Iowa/Southern Minnesota was $2.63 higher at $122 to $130, with an average of $128.36. Butcher hogs at the terminals were steady to $1 higher at $79 to $87. Illinois Direct sows were $7 to $9 higher at $75 to $90 on moderate demand for light to moderate offerings.
The pork carcass cutout value was up $.24 at $131.50, with all cuts except the hams posting gains. The estimated slaughter of 359,000 head was down 1,000 on the week and 64,000 on the year.
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