After the Bell | December 4, 2023
Corn: December corn rose 3/4 cent to $4.85 1/2, a mid-range close. Corn futures turned decidedly higher following USDA’s mid-morning release of weekly inspection data, though a lack of support from outside markets and technically strapped soybean futures ultimately curbed buying efforts.
Soybeans: January soybean futures saw sustained selling throughout the session, falling 18 3/4 cents to $13.06 1/4. January meal futures dropped $4.40 to $408.30. January bean oil futures slipped 21 points to 51.24 cents. Soybean futures broke down and experienced heavy technical selling throughout most of the session, unable to garner spillover strength from the wheat market.
Wheat: March SRW wheat rose 17 3/4 cents at $6.20 1/2 and nearer the session high. Prices hit a six-week high. March HRW wheat gained 11 cents to $6.57 3/4, near the session high and hit a three-week high. Spring wheat futures rose 6 cents to $7.36 1/4. The wheat futures markets saw more short covering and perceived bargain hunting today as the technical postures for winter wheat markets are improving.
Cotton: March cotton fell 74 points to 78.68 cents, ending near the session low and the lowest close since Nov. 8. Trade in March cotton futures continued to feature technical headwinds to start the week, with outside market pressure concurrently hovering over the natural fiber.
Cattle: February live cattle fell $2.05 to $167.075, near the session low and hit an 11-month low. January feeder cattle closed down $3.90 at $210.525, near the session low and hit a contract low. More chart-based selling pressure was seen in the live and feeder cattle futures markets to start the trading week, as technicals are fully bearish and there are no strong, early chart clues that market bottoms are close at hand.
Hogs: February lean hog futures rallied 70 cents before ending the day at $70.80, while nearby December futures lost 55 cents to $68.05. Lean hog futures struggled garnering much momentum either way in a volatile session, though favored the upside at the close.
