After the Bell | December 6, 2023
Corn: March corn fell 6 1/4 cents to $4.84 1/4 and closed near the session low after reaching the highest intraday level since Nov. 16 in early trade. Corn futures ended a five-day string of short-covering as extended pressure in soybeans and plummeting crude oil futures weighed on prices.
Soybeans: January soybeans fell 10 cents to $12.95 1/2. Prices closed near the session low and closed at a seven-week low close. March soybean meal closed down $6.00 at $398.00, nearer the session low and hit a six-week low. March bean oil dropped 91 points to 49.30 cents, nearer the session low and hit a four-week low. Technical selling was featured in the soybean complex futures today, as the chart postures for all three markets have deteriorated recently.
Wheat: March SRW futures rose 2 1/4 cents to $6.33 1/2, though fell 16 cents from session high. March HRW futures fell 6 3/4 cents to $6.56, near the session low. March spring wheat futures fell 8 1/2 cents to $7.30 1/2. Wheat futures surged overnight on followthrough buying into this morning, though profit taking stifled gains as the session went on, with prices eventually trading lower on the session.
Cotton: March cotton futures rose 7 points to 79.75 cents and nearer the session low. A sharp drop in Nymex crude oil futures today, to below $70 a barrel, limited buying interest in the cotton futures market.
Cattle: Cash and wholesale weakness sent cattle and feeder futures sharply lower again Wednesday, with expiring December live cattle tumbling $5.05 to $163.45 and most-active February plunging $5.425 to $163.55. January feeder futures dove $4.55 to $210.15. Cash markets in the Southern Plains and Iowa traded lightly in the $170.00-$171.00 range again Tuesday, which likely convinced futures traders of sustained cash weakness this week and likely into the holiday season as well.
Hogs: February lean hog futures fell 5 cents to $69.30, while nearby December futures rallied 72.5 cents to $67.55. Lean hog futures continue to trend lower on the daily chart though they saw limited price movement on Wednesday.
