Thursday's Closing Grain and Livestock Futures Prices.
Jul. corn closed at $4.49, down 7 and 1/4 cents
Jul. soybeans closed at $14.60 and 1/2, down 22 cents
Jul. soybean meal closed at $490.60, down $5.90
Jul. soybean oil closed at 38.69, down 56 points
Jul. wheat closed at $6.05 and 3/4, down 8 and 3/4 cents
Jun. live cattle closed at $139.50, up $1.50
Jun. lean hogs closed at $112.97, up 42 cents
Jul. crude oil closed at $102.48, down 16 cents
Jul. cotton closed at 85.50, down 58 points
Jun. Class III milk closed at $21.37, up 16 cents
Jun. gold closed at $1,253.00, up $9.00
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 16,836.11, up 98.58 points
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Agri Markets News Review
Soybeans were lower on fund and technical selling. The trade’s watching planting and development weather, expecting a large, if not record, crop this year. The near term fundamentals remain bullish with a solid week for export numbers, but commercial demand was scarce. Soybean meal was mixed with old crop down and new crop up, while bean oil was lower on the generally lower tone at the CBOT. Unknown destinations picked up 40,000 tons of 2013/14 U.S. soybean oil.
Corn was lower on fund and technical selling. Planting is nearly complete, so the current rainfall around the Midwest is mostly being seen as beneficial for development. Weekly export numbers for corn look pretty much neutral; it was a good week for sales and shipments, but the overall pace of shipments remains slower than what’s needed weekly to meet USDA projections for the marketing year. Ethanol futures were mixed.
The wheat complex was mixed, with Chicago down on fund and technical selling. Weekly export numbers were bearish and reflect a slow end for the just ended marketing year. Kansas City was mixed, watching harvest activity and yield numbers, while Minneapolis was up on the slow spring planting pace. Turkey bought 165,000 tons of milling wheat from Hungary, Russia, and Serbia and Pakistan picked up 100,000 tons of black sea origin wheat, while Jordan bought 100,000 tons of optional origin hard milling wheat and Oman picked up 60,000 tons of 12.5% protein milling wheat from Russia. In sell-buy-sell trade, Japan bought 107,200 tons of food wheat (53,000 tons U.S., 32,900 tons Australian, and 21,300 tons Canadian).
Light inquiry is evident in several areas of cattle country on Thursday afternoon with some packers especially interested in high dressing cattle. DTN reports they have heard of some talk of live bids in parts of Iowa near 145.00 to 147.00. The suspicion is significant trade volume will not develop until sometime on Friday especially now that higher futures have further encouraged higher asking prices of 145.00 in the South and 234.00 plus in the North. The kill totaled 116,000 head, 4,000 smaller than last week and 10,000 below a year ago.
Boxed beef cutout values were lower on light to moderate demand and moderate offerings. Choice boxed beef was 1.12 lower at 230.99, and select was down 1.97 at 221.89.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle contracts settled 50 to 150 points higher. The premium status of feedlot business continues to trigger short covering before the arrival of first notice on Monday. It will be interesting to see how spot June handles chart resistance near 140 through the end of the week. June settled 150 points in the black at 139.50 and August was up 1.15 at 141.32.
Feeder cattle settled 60 to 110 points higher supported by follow through buying, technical bullishness and ongoing cash strength. Contract highs were once again evident throughout the pit. August settled 1.05 higher at 199.82 and September was up .75 at 200.25.
Feeder cattle receipts at the Huss Platte Valley Auction, Kearney, Nebraska totaled 2825 head. Compared to two weeks ago, feeder steers over 700 pounds sold 5.00 to 7.00 higher, except 850 weights 20.00 higher. Heifers sold 2.00 to 6.00 higher. Demand was good to very good from start to finish. Some of the feeder cattle came off of short summer pasture and most offerings were light to medium flesh. 831 feeder steers averaging 861 pounds averaged 200.76 per hundredweight. 137 heifers averaging 788 pounds brought 185.44.
Lean hogs ended the session 67 points higher to 57 lower. The summer contracts finished in the black while the fall and winter contracts ended lower. The action appeared to be the result of both bull spreading and the unwinding of bear spreads. June settled .42 higher at 112.97 and July was up .67 at 122.17.
Barrows and gilts in the Iowa/Minnesota direct trade closed 1.25 higher at 111.31 weighted average on a carcass basis, the West was up 1.92 at 111.29, and the East was .13 higher at 106.22. Missouri direct base carcass meat price was steady to 1.00 higher from 96.00 to 104.00. Terminal hogs were fully steady from 70.00 to 77.00 live.
The pork carcass value FOB plant was down .30 at 118.21 in the afternoon report.
For the week ending May 31, Iowa barrows and gilts averaged 286.7 pounds, unchanged with the previous week and 10 pounds heavier than 2013. Seasonally, weights should be decreasing.
The Wednesday hog kill was estimated at 411,000 head. 7,000 less than last week, but up 12,000 from last year.
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