After The Bell | October 25, 2023
Corn: December corn fell 4 cents to $4.80, the lowest close this month. December corn futures faced selling for the fourth consecutive session, pressured by weakness in SRW wheat and selling in meal and soybean futures.
Soybeans: January soybeans fell 6 cents to $13.08 1/2 and near mid-range. December soybean meal lost $5.00 at $429.20 and nearer the session low. Prices hit a contract high early on. December bean oil rose 128 points at 52.60 cents and near the session high. The soybean market saw selling pressure today as the meal futures market backed well down from its early contract high.
Wheat: December SRW wheat fell 2 cents to $5.68 1/2, a two-week low close, while HRW lost 14 cents, closing at $6.49, a fresh near-term low. December spring wheat fell 7 1/2 cents to $7.20 3/4. The wheat complex slipped lower as weather in many key growing regions across the globe has led to notable improvements.
Cotton: December cotton rose 88 points at 83.81 cents and nearer the session high. Short covering was featured in the cotton futures market today.
Cattle: Comparative cash market stability is seemingly encouraging buying in the cattle and feeder markets. Expiring October live cattle futures rose $1.125 to $181.125, while most-active December rose 80 cents to $179.425. October feeder futures, which go off the board at noon Thursday, climbed 55 cents to $239.975, while November feeders jumped $2.625 to $238.05. As noted Tuesday, almost 10,000 head of Iowa cattle changed hands at $183.82 Monday, which was almost $4.00 over yesterday’s closing price for expiring October live cattle futures (which go off the board at noon next Tuesday (10/31).
Hogs: The late slowdown in the seasonal cash decline appeared to spur renewed buying in hog futures Wednesday, with nearby December futures bouncing $1.125 to $67.50. The numbers in the belatedly released USDA report on slaughter hogs traded Monday placed the official quote for Monday’s hog index at $78.67, down 40 cents from last Friday.
