Corn: December corn fell 4 1/4 cents to $4.51, near mid-range. The corn futures market today saw some more profit taking and weak long liquidation after strong early-week gains. Somewhat improved trader/investor risk appetite in the general marketplace today did help lift corn up from its session low.
Soybeans: November soybeans fell 10 3/4 cents to $11.81 1/2, nearer the daily low. September soybean meal rose $4.70 to $314.40, near the daily high. September soybean oil fell 90 points to 69.48 cents, near the daily low but hit a three-week high early on. The soybean market saw some more profit taking from the shorter-term speculators today, but losses were limited by good gains in the meal market. Spreaders appeared to be unwinding long bean oil, short meal trades today.
Wheat: September SRW rose 12 cents to $6.19 3/4, nearer the daily high. September HRW gained 9 cents to $6.54 1/4, nearer the daily high. September spring wheat futures gained 8 1/4 cents to $6.39. The winter wheat futures markets saw chart-based buying from the shorter-term speculators featured today. There are also growing notions that the European wheat crop will be cut short due to an extreme heat wave in western Europe.
Cotton: December cotton futures closed 10 points to 80.57 cents, nearer the daily high. Cotton futures paused today, which favors the bullish camp after prices closed limit up on Tuesday. Improved trader/investor risk appetite in the general marketplace also favored the cotton market bulls today and limited selling interest in the natural fiber..
Cattle: August live cattle lost $2.375 to $235.25, near the daily low and closed at a 3.5-month low close. August feeder cattle fell $5.90 to $356.15, near the daily low and closed at a four-week-low close. The live and feeder cattle futures markets saw renewed technical selling pressure today as the near-term charts favor the bears. Prices are in downtrends on the daily bar charts. Very light cash cattle trading reported by USDA at sharply lower levels than last week also pressured futures markets.
Hogs: August lean hog futures fell $1.50 to $98.15, near the daily low. The lean hog futures market has turned choppy this week, with a corrective pullback featured today after prices hit a five-week high Wednesday. Bulls are keeping alive a price uptrend on the daily bar chart.