After the Bell | April 4, 2024
Corn: May corn rose 3 1/2 cents to $4.35 1/4, marking a high-range close above the 40- and 10-day moving averages. Albeit mild, corn futures were able to grab gains for a second straight session after facing notable selling to begin the week.
Soybeans: May soybean futures fell 2 1/4 cents to $11.80, well off session lows. May soymeal futures rose $3.50 on late-session strength to $333.50. May bean oil futures dropped 70 points to 48.15 cents. Bean futures traded lower throughout most of today’s session, though late-session strength in soymeal helped close prices well off intraday lows
Wheat: May SRW wheat closed up 1/4 cent at $5.56 1/4 and nearer the session high. May HRW wheat fell 3 cents to $5.77 1/2 and nearer the session low. May HRS rallied 6 3/4 cents to $6.46 1/4. The winter wheat futures markets today saw more choppy and consolidative trade that the bulls hope has produced or soon will produce major market price bottoms.
Cotton: May cotton futures plunged 184 points to 87.14 cents, settling on session lows. Cotton futures continue to break down, closing lower for the third consecutive session.
Cattle: June live cattle closed up 25 cents at $175.85 and nearer the session high. The expiring April contract gained 55 cents to $181.475. May feeder cattle gained $1.30 to $243.875 and nearer the daily high. The cattle futures markets today saw modest short covering following this week’s strong selling pressure that pushed prices to 2.5-month lows.
Hogs: Continued cash and wholesale strength supported hog futures again Thursday, with the expiring April contract rising 37.5 cents to $88.35 and most-active June gaining 25 cents to $105.00. The CME confirmed the preliminary figure for Tuesday’s hog index quote at $85.15, up 23 cents from Monday.
