After the Bell | March 22, 2023
Corn: May corn rose 3 3/4 cents to $6.33 1/2, ending the session above the 20-day moving average. After suffering from spillover weakness from the wheat and soy complex early in the session, corn futures notched a midmorning reversal from the overnight low, though new-crop contracts were unable to sustain the strength.
Soybeans: May soybeans fell 18 1/2 cents at $14.48 1/2, nearer the session low and hit a 3.5-month low. May soybean meal dropped $9.00 at $451.60, near the session low and hit a six-week-low. May bean oil closed down 160 points at 54.64 cents, near the daily low and hit an eight-month-low. Technical selling pressure and a still-uncertain macro-economic environment amid the present banking turmoil sunk the soybean complex futures today.
Cotton: May cotton rose 43 points to 78.28 cents and nearer the daily low. The cotton futures market saw mild buying support today from higher crude oil prices and solid afternoon losses in the U.S. dollar index.
Cattle: April live cattle futures fell 12.5 cents on the day to close at $162.3, over $1.50 higher off the daily low. Most-active April feeder futures fell 32.5 cents to $197.375 but closed well off the intraday lows. Live cattle future’s bulls proved resilient today after prices plunged lower on this morning’s open.
Hogs: Hog futures remained under pressure Wednesday, with the nearby April contract falling 97.5 cents to $76.075. The cash hog and wholesale pork markets remained weak this morning, with Monday’s official quote for the hog index matching the preliminary figure at $78.67, down 88 cents on the day.
