After the Bell | February 14, 2024
Corn: March corn fell 6 1/2 cents to $4.24 1/4, a fresh contract low close. The grain complex featured notable selling, with SRW wheat leading futures lower.
Soybeans: March soybeans fell 15 3/4 cents to $11.70 1/2, near the session low and hit an 8.5-month low. March soybean meal lost $1.50 at $343.30, nearer the session low and closed at an 11-month low close. March bean oil closed down 95 points at 46.35 cents and nearer the session low. The soybean complex was hit by more chart-based selling pressure from the speculators today.
Wheat: March SRW wheat closed 12 cents lower at $5.85 1/2, the lowest close since Jan. 18. March HRW fell 8 1/4 cents to $5.84, a mid-range close. March spring wheat fell 9 1/4 cents to $6.62 1/2. SRW wheat led the grain complex lower today amid fading global supply concerns.
Cotton: March cotton rose 196 points to 93.44 cents, near mid-range and hit a 1.5-year high. The cotton futures market continued its strong bull run today, fueled by technical buying interest from the speculators.
Cattle: The cattle and feeder complex continued this week’s pullback but rebounded significantly from their daily lows. Expiring February live cattle dropped $1.35 to $182.40 and most-active April fell $1.10 to $184.00. March feeder futures tumbled $1.775 to $246.225. Continued wholesale weakness is apparently weighing on the cattle and feeder markets, with traders apparently thinking the loss of cutout values will enable packers to force cash prices lower later this week.
Hogs: April lean hog futures surged $3.45 to $84.525 and settled nearer session highs. February futures went off the board at noon today, up 95 cents at $75.175. Lean hog futures surged, negating nearly all of the selling seen over the last two weeks.
