After the Bell | March 29, 2023

Corn: May corn rose 3 1/4 cents to $6.50 1/2, marking a mid-range close. Corn futures were led higher overnight by strength in SRW wheat following the announcement of Cargill’s decision to stop exports of Russian grain in the coming marketing year, which begins July 1.

Soybeans: May soybeans rose 9 1/2 cents at $14.77 1/4 and nearer the session high. May soybean meal rose 30 cents at $458.20 and nearer the session low. May bean oil gained 33 points at 55.38 cents, nearer the session high on more short covering. The soybean bulls are keeping their foot on the accelerator as today marked the fourth-straight session of good gains and high-range daily closes, after prices last week hit a five-month low.

Wheat: May SRW futures rose 5 cents and settled at $7.04 3/4, nearly 20 cents off the day’s high. May HRW futures fell 2 cents and settled at $8.70 1/2, near the bottom of today’s trading range. Spring wheat futures fell 4 1/2 cents to $8.78, near the daily low. Wheat futures surged this morning after Cargill announced they will no longer export Russian grain at the start of the coming marketing year.

Cotton: May cotton rose 24 points to 82.76 cents, ending the session above the 40-day moving average. Nearby cotton futures eased a bit after having posted solid gains over the past three sessions.

Cattle: Nearby April live cattle futures climbed 87.5 cents to $165.825 Wednesday, while the June contract gained 75 cents to $159.65. Expiring March feeder futures slipped 27.5 cents to $191.45, but the May future jumped $1.725 to $202.525. As expected, packers and feedlot managers are holding firm to their respective bid and asking prices so far this week, with virtually no trade taking place Monday or Tuesday.

Hogs: April lean hogs fell 97 1/2 cents to $76.775. June lean hogs dropped $1.90 at $90.825. Prices closed nearer the session lows today. Bearish technicals and weakening cash hog market fundamentals continue to weigh on the lean hog futures market.