After the Bell | March 20, 2024
Corn: May corn fell 1/2 cent to $4.39 but ended near the session high. Corn futures spent most of the session favoring the downside as spillover weakness seeped from SRW wheat and notable selling in crude oil futures.
Soybeans: May soybeans rose 24 cents to $12.09 1/2. May soybean meal gained $8.60 to $342.50. May bean oil closed up 86 points at 49.00 cents today. Prices closed near their session highs today. The soybean complex futures markets saw short covering and perceived bargain hunting today.
Wheat: May SRW wheat closed 7 1/2 cents lower at $5.45, but finished in the upper trading range, while May HRW fell 2 1/4 cents to $5.80 1/2, ending near the session high. May spring wheat fell 3/4 cent to $6.55. SRW wheat gave up most of Tuesday’s gains as the U.S. dollar extended its recent climb and looming technical pressure continued to curb buying.
Cotton: May cotton fell 116 points to 92.18 cents and nearer the session low. Prices hit a four-week low. The cotton futures market saw chart-based selling pressure from the speculators today as the near-term technical have turned more bearish.
Cattle: Cattle futures slipped Wednesday, with the nearby April live cattle contract dipping 25 cents of $187.80. The expiring March feeder cattle contract dropped 42.5 cents to $250.25, while next-nearby April slid 15 cents to $254.925. The cattle industry is less optimistic about the price outlook in the wake of last week’s final weekly slaughter report for the week ended March 2, since the report indicated steer dressed weights had averaged 919 pounds per head.
Hogs: April lean hog futures lost 52.5 cents to $85.30, settling nearer session lows. Lean hog futures fell under pressure for the second consecutive session as skepticism about the longer-term outlook persists.
