Wheat Futures Prices Rise, Soybeans Fall.

Thursday's Closing Grain and Livestock Futures
Dec. corn closed at $4.56 and 3/4, up 2 cents
Nov. soybeans closed at $13.16 and 3/4, down 5 cents
Oct. soybean meal closed at $416.40, down $2.20
Oct. soybean oil closed at 41.79, down 3 points
Dec. wheat closed at $6.78 and 1/4, up 7 and 3/4 cents
Oct. live cattle closed at $127.70, up 15 cents
Oct. lean hogs closed at $92.80, down 90 cents
Nov. crude oil closed at $103.33, up 37 cents
Dec. cotton closed at 85.47, up 82 points
Oct. Class III milk closed at $18.00, up 8 cents
Oct. gold closed at $1,323.60, down $12.30
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 15,328.30, up 55.04 points

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Market News and ReCap

Soybeans were lower on fund and technical selling. Early yields have generally been variable, but there’s harvest pressure and no fresh supportive news with definite interest in long liquidation. The trade’s getting ready for Monday’s quarterly stocks report and weekly export sales topped 2 million tons, but shipments remain slow due to the tight supply. Soybean meal and oil were down modestly, watching beans.

Corn was higher on technical buying and spillover from wheat. There’s continued harvest pressure for corn as well with traders watching the weekend weather forecasts and yield numbers from some key growing areas. Corn’s net short heading into next week’s USDA numbers and weekly export sales were bullish. Ethanol futures were mixed. The International Grains Council projects 2013/14 world corn production at 943.2 million tons, compared to the IGC’s prior guess of 945.4 million.

The wheat complex was higher on short covering and fund buying. There are planting delays in Russia and Ukraine, and further concerns about a recent freeze in Argentina. Additionally, there’s more talk of new export demand and the weekly numbers were solid. The International Grains Council estimates 2013/14 world wheat production at 692.6 million tons, compared to the previous projection of 690.6 million tons. South Korea’s Nonghyup Feed Inc. bought 55,000 tons of optional origin feed wheat.

Boxed beef cutout values were weak on light demand and moderate offerings. Choice beef ended the day .25 lower at 193.34, and select was down .42 at 177.05.

Live cattle contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange settled 15 to 45 points higher. Trade was light and markets were mixed much of the session. There was no direction from the cash market, and the focus was put on the potential for gains, with firm support in feeder cattle also helping to draw buyers back into the market. October settled .15 higher at 127.70 and December was up .30 at 131.57.

Feeder cattle ended 82 to 145 points higher as buyers quickly flooded back to the complex as lower grain prices created additional encouragement to traders.  Traders’ concentration was less based on current daily movement in the cattle futures, but longer term direction seen earlier in the week. September settled .87 higher at 159.55, and October was up 1.45 at 164.37.

Feeder cattle receipts at the Hub City Livestock Auction at Aberdeen, South Dakota totaled 3081 head. Compared with last week, feeder steers were 2.00 to 3.00 higher, except 900 to 950 pound steers steady to 3.00 higher. Feeder heifers were steady to 2.00 higher. There was very good demand for this offering. Feeder steers medium and large 1 weighing 925 pounds averaged 156.60 per hundredweight. 921 pound heifers brought 146.99.

Lean hogs settled unchanged to 90 points lower even though prices backed away from morning lows. Traders looked for additional direction from both technical trade as well as focusing on potential hog numbers seen in the quarterly hogs and pigs report due out Friday afternoon.  There was some position squaring ahead of the report. October was down .90 at 92.80, and December was .87 lower at 87.25.

Barrows and gilts in the Iowa/Minnesota direct trade closed .02 higher at 92.45 on a carcass basis, the West was unchanged at 92.30, and the East was down 1.98 at 89.64. Missouri direct base carcass meat price closed steady from 86.00 to 89.00. Terminal hogs were 1.00 to 2.00 lower from 61.00 to 70.00 live.

Iowa barrow and gilts last week averaged 271.2 pounds, 0.3 pounds bigger than the prior week and 1 pound above 2012. Since late August, Iowa hogs have actually lost 0.4 pounds. Over the same period, the three-year average is a gain of 4.1 pounds. Finishing floors seen quite current.

The pork value FOB plant was up 1.09 at 102.36 on a negotiated basis. Bellies, hams and loins were higher and all other cuts were lower.

Thursday’s hog slaughter was estimated at 431,000 head, 2,000 more than last week, but down 1,000 from last year.