After the Bell | August 26, 2021
Corn: December corn futures fell 1 cent to $5.50 3/4 a bushel, up from $5.37 at the end of last week. Corn market bulls have stabilized the market late this week after December futures hit a six-week low on Monday. However, somewhat beneficial late-season rains in the Corn Belt limited buying interest. World Weather Inc. said areas of significant and beneficial rain fell from parts of the eastern Corn Belt yesterday and hit some previously dry areas of the western and northwestern Belt overnight and today. Today’s weekly USDA export sales report was in-line with market expectations. U.S. corn export sales for the week ended Aug. 19 were 6,600 metric tons (MT) for the 2020-21 marketing year, while sales for 2021-22 totaled 684,000 MT and included Mexico (492,000 MT) and Japan (93,000 MT) as the lead buyers. USDA also reported daily sales of 100,000 MT of corn to Colombia for 2021-22.
Soybeans: November soybeans fell 6 1/2 cents to $13.26 1/4 a bushel, up from last week’s close of $12.90 3/4. New-crop soybean futures were pressured by another round of rains across parts of the Midwest. More rain is forecast for the next seven to 10 days, providing beneficial late-season moisture to fields that aren’t already shutting down. USDA reported weekly soybean export sales of 1.75 million MT for 2021-22, within the range of pre-report estimates. USDA also announced daily soybean sales of 133,000 MT to China and 132,150 MT to unknown destinations. These sales were rumored late last week and earlier this week.
Wheat: December SRW futures rose 13 3/4 cents to $7.39 1/4 per bushel, the highest closing price in a week. December HRW wheat rose 13 1/4 cents to $7.28 1/4 and December spring wheat rose 3 1/2 cents to $9.11 1/2. A bullish global fundamental backdrop continued to support wheat futures, with weather woes crimping harvests in some top producing nations. The International Grains Council (IGC) today said it lowered its forecast for the 2021-22 global wheat crop by just under 1%, reflecting diminished outlooks for Russia, Canada and the U.S. The IGC now pegs global production a 782 million MT. Traders looked past a disappointing weekly export sales report from USDA, which showed U.S. wheat sales for the week ended Aug. 19 totaling 116,000 MT for 2021-22, a marketing-year low and down 67% from the prior four-week average.
Cotton: December cotton fell 34 points to 94.16 cents a pound, up from 93.10 cents at the end of last week. Cotton futures fell for the first time in five days as the U.S. dollar index strengthened slightly and U.S. stock benchmarks eased. The cotton market remains near contract highs, and a 16-month uptrend remains intact amid beliefs strengthening global demand will absorb what’s expected to be a large U.S. crop. Additionally, a tropical depression that formed early today between Jamaica and the Cayman Islands is expected to “intensify aggressively” and become Tropical Storm Ida tonight as it moves west and north into the Gulf of Mexico, World Weather Inc. said in a report. The storm is expected to make landfall in the U.S., likely southeast Louisiana, early Monday, raising the prospect of crop damage in some areas. Also today, USDA reported net weekly U.S. cotton sales of 245,100 running bales (RB) for the 2021-22 marketing year and net sales of 67,900 RB for 2022-23.
Cattle: October live cattle fell 70 cents to $129.70 per hundredweight, while October feeder cattle fell $1 to $168.275. This week’s declines in wholesale beef prices suggest the market may have established a short-term peak as retailers wrapped up their purchases ahead of the Labor Day holiday weekend. However, still-strong U.S. consumer demand is likely to limit late-summer losses. Choice beef cutout values rose 38 cents today to $347.27 per hundredweight. USDA’s weekly export sales report today showed net U.S. beef sales of 10,400 MT for the week ended Aug. 19, down 6% from the previous week and down 33% from the prior four-week average. Slaughter so far this week totaled an estimated 463,000 head, down from 479,000 head for the same period last week and down from 472,000 for the same period a year ago, USDA reported.
Hogs: October lean hog futures fell 85 cents to $87.90 per hundredweight and are down from $88.625 at the end of last week. The ongoing seasonal surge in hog supplies and slaughter rates is pressuring cash values, as indicated by the preliminary quote for Wednesday’s CME Lean Hog Index, which fell $1.55 to $104.79, the lowest since April. The market expects the trend to continue, as indicated by October futures trading under $88.00. However, the average has then tended to work higher into mid-October. Pork carcass cutout values bounced back from a recent slump, gaining $6.16 today to $116.40, underscoring the meat complex’s underlying strength. Cutout values are still well-below the June peak of $134.94. U.S. meatpackers slaughtered an estimated 1.86 million head of hogs so far this week, down from 1.9 million at the same point last week and down from 1.91 million during the same period in 2020.
