After the Bell | February 9, 2024
Corn: March corn fell 4 1/4 cents to $4.29, marking a weekly decline of 13 3/4 cents. March corn futures traded on either side of unchanged before falling to a fresh contract low close.
Soybeans: March soybeans fell 10 cents to $11.83 1/2 and gave up a nickel on the week. March soymeal fell 30 cents to $346.80 and lost $10.00 week-over week. March soyoil fell 68 points to 47.26 cents, gaining 253 points on the week. Soybeans edged sideways in consolidative trade, largely pressured by firm technical pressure and spillover from USDA’s data dump on Thursday.
Wheat: March SRW wheat futures rose 8 1/4 cents to $5.96 3/4, near mid-range and for the week down 3 cents. March HRW wheat futures rose 1/2 cent to $6.01 1/2, nearer the session low and for the week down 23 1/2 cents. March HRS rose 1/2 cent to $6.84 1/4 but lost 15 1/2 cents on the week. The wheat futures markets continue to languish in sideways, choppy trading at lower price levels.
Cotton: March cotton surged 268 points to 91.78 cents and notched a 467-point gain on the week. March cotton bulls carried the torch to a near 18-month high, with persisting optimism stemming from another day of record highs across equities.
Cattle: April live cattle futures rose 15 cents to $186.725, near mid-range and on the week gained $2.975. March feeder cattle futures prices closed up 30 cents at $247.15, near mid-range and for the week rose $2.35. Today’s technically bullish weekly high closes in April live cattle and March feeders set the table for some more technical/speculator buying interest in both markets early next week.
Hogs: Hog futures rebounded from recent losses, although the closes came in well below the intraday highs. Expiring February futures rose 37.5 cents on the day, settling at $73.675. Most-active April advanced 80 cents to $81.15. That represented a weekly decline of $2.675. Traders apparently became less optimistic about the short-term hog outlook this week, with April futures falling substantially and the expiring February contract implying flat cash prices leading up to next Wednesday’s (2/14) expiration.
