After the Bell | April 17, 2024
Corn: May corn fell 1 1/2 cents to $4.30, marking a low-range close. Corn futures continued to edge sideways in narrow, consolidative trade at mid-week, with spillover weakness stemming from SRW wheat, while corrective gains across the soy complex limited losses.
Soybeans: May soybeans rose 4 1/2 cents to $11.49 1/2, nearer the session high after hitting a five-week low early on. May soybean meal closed up $3.40 at $338.70 and near mid-range. May bean oil gained 9 points to 45.00 cents, nearer the session high and hit a six-week low early on. The soy complex saw some short covering today, following recent selling pressure.
Wheat: May SRW wheat closed 12 3/4 cents lower to $5.37, while May HRW dove 14 3/4 cents to $5.72 3/4, each closing near the session low. May HRS futures fell 5 cents to $6.33 1/4. SRW wheat futures faced heavier selling to a one-month low today as technical pressure combined with a strong U.S. dollar weighed on prices.
Cotton: May cotton fell 173 points to 79.56 cents and near the session low. Prices hit a four-month low. Technical selling was featured again today in the cotton futures market, as the charts remain overall bearish.
Cattle: Cattle futures traded mixed Wednesday, with the nearby April and June contracts closing 60 cents and 40 cents lower, at $180.90 and $175.325, respectively, while some deferred contracts edged higher. Expiring April feeder futures rose 7.5 cents to $240.425, whereas the May contract slid 70 cents to $240.275. There was no fed cattle trading in the five-area direct markets Monday or Tuesday, but the futures market continues anticipating sustained cash weakness.
Hogs: June lean hog futures settled 10 cents lower to $102.725, while nearby May futures rose 20 cents to $94.925. Nearby lean hog futures faced modest selling pressure throughout the session though they remained above this week’s lows.
