Corn: December corn futures rose 5 cents to $4.28, nearer the session high and hit a four-week high. Corn saw better buying interest from speculators as the technical posture for the December contract continued to improve. Gains for soybean and wheat also lent support, while sharp gains for crude oil prices have also been bullish for grains.
Soybeans: January soybeans rose 12 cents to $10.62, ending at a five-week high and near the daily high. December soybean meal rose $2.30 to $292.30, near the daily high and hitting a seven-week high. December soybean oil rose 80 points to 50.87 cents, near the daily high. The White House on Thursday said President Donald Trump will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit on Oct. 30. Soy complex futures saw solid speculator buying interest as the charts for January soybeans and December meal have gotten decidedly more bullish.
Wheat: December SRW rose 9 ¼ cents to $5.13, near the session high and hit a two-week high. December HRW gained 11 ½ cents to $5.00, near the daily high and hit a three-week high. December spring wheat futures advanced 10 ¼ cents to $5.58, near the daily high. Winter wheat saw breakouts from recent sideways trading patterns. The key question is whether the bulls can follow through Friday and produce technically bullish weekly high closes.
Cotton: December cotton rose 33 points to 64.07 cents, nearer the daily high. December cotton was lifted by short covering and perceived bargain buying from speculators, while sharply higher crude prices over the past two days have also been bullish. Gains for U.S. stock indexes also lent support to cotton futures.
Cattle: December live cattle gained $1.35 to $241.175, nearer the session low. January feeder cattle declined $3.60 to $357.425, nearer the daily and hit a three-week low. Live cattle futures saw a corrective bounce after Wednesday’s steep selloff, while feeder cattle futures saw follow-through selling after Wednesday’s limit-down trade. The cattle market is digesting the Trump administration’s latest moves on U.S. beef, including a plan to quadruple Argentine beef imports into the U.S. to bring down prices at the meat counter. Also, USDA on Wednesday announced a “suite of actions” it said were designed to strengthen the U.S. beef industry.
Hogs: December lean hogs fell 62 ½ cents to $81.775, near the low for the day and hit a two-month low. Bearish technicals and continued downside pressure on cash hog market prices are weighing on hog futures.