After the Bell | April 21, 2023

Corn: May corn futures fell 1/2 cent to $6.63 1/4, ending the week a penny higher. July futures ended the day 10 3/4 lower at $6.15 1/4, down 20 1/2 cents on the week. Today’s price action was a bit of a head scratcher as the May/July spread rose nearly ten cents.

Soybeans: May soybeans fell 14 cents to $14.83 1/2, ending the session below the 20- and 40-day moving averages and down 17 cents on the week. May meal closed $5.60 lower at $445.70, a $14.00 drop from last week while May soyoil fell 103 points to 53.40 cents. An early-week rally turned ill-fated after bulls failed miserably in testing resistance around $15.27 for the third time this month, handing the opposition increased momentum for a downside move.

Wheat: May SRW wheat fell 6 cents to $6.61 3/4 and for the week lost 20 3/4 cents. May HRW wheat rose 1/2 cent to $8.40 3/4 and on the week fell 38 cents. Both markets hit four-week lows today. May HRS wheat fell 8 3/4 cents to $8.47. It was not a good week for the wheat market bulls. The technically bearish weekly low close in SRW on Friday and the fractional gain in HRW set the table for more chart-based selling pressure from the speculators early next week.

Cotton: May cotton fell 83 points to 78.41 cents, closing 445 points lower on the week. The higher-volume July contract rose 6 points to 80.15 cents, a 278-point week-over-week loss. Cotton fared rather poorly this week as a strong selloff in crude oil futures and expected rains in key U.S. cotton-growing areas sent the natural fiber in downward spiral on Thursday.

Cattle: The expiring April live cattle contract ended the week at $173.975, down 12.5 cents from Thursday, while most-active June futures edged up 17.5 cents to $164.525. The latter represented a weekly rise of 80 cents. The expiring April feeder contract fell $1.25 to a Friday close of $203.775. May feeders inched up 5 cents to settle at $212.40, which marked a $4.50 weekly advance. Weak beef demand from grocers after they completed the bulk of their purchases for first-weekend-of-the-month features next weekend seems likely to keep a lid on the cattle and beef markets next week.

Hogs: June lean hogs rose $1.00 to $86.075 and nearer the session high. For the week, June hogs lost 80 cents. The lean hog futures bulls Friday mustered some moderate short covering after prices hit a contract low early on today.