Pro Farmer wishes all of you, our valued readers, a Merry Christmas! Please be advised of the following holiday schedule:
- Markets: Grain futures close early at 12:05 p.m. CT, livestock futures at 12:15 p.m.; markets closed Thursday.
- Reports: On Wednesday and Friday, we will observe an abbreviated schedule, publishing First Thing Today (8:00 a.m. CT) and After the Bell (after the close). We will resume our regular publishing schedule on Monday, Dec. 29.
Corn: March corn futures rose 3 cents to $4.50 ½ in a holiday-shortened session, ending near the daily high and posting its highest close in nearly six weeks. It was the third straight winning session for corn, which has seen support on a strong export pace, with March posting its highest close since Nov. 13.
Soybeans: January soybeans rose 11 ¼ cents to finish at $10.62 ¾, near the daily high. Meal and soybean oil futures were both up strongly, gaining over 1%. Favorable South American weather has been a weight on soybeans, but prospects for warmer, dryer weather in Argentina are on the radar for potential heat risks.
Wheat: March SRW rose 5 ½ cents to $5.22 ½, for its fifth straight winning session. It’s rallied 17 ¼ cents over that stretch. March HRW rose 6 ¼ cents to 5.34 ¼, its highest finish in over five weeks. Winter wheat bulls are showing signs of life, with support tied to fighting between Russia and Ukraine that’s seen as a threat to Black Sea shipments, as well as unfavorably hot weather in the U.S. Great Plains and a cold snap in Russia.
Cotton: March cotton rose 23 points to 64.24 cents, its highest close in three weeks. Signs of life in export sales, favorable seasonals and short covering have helped give cotton a lift.
Cattle: February live cattle fell $1.275 to $228.725, near the middle of the range. January feeder cattle rose 30 cents to $344.925. The live and feeder cattle futures have seen consolidation amid light, holiday-thinned cash and futures activity after both markets hit two-month highs Monday.
Hogs: February lean-hog futures fell 90 cents to end at $89.075, near mid-range, pulling back from a two-month high set on Tuesday. The contract gapped lower on the opening bell after Tuesday afternoon’s quarterly Hogs and Pigs Report from USDA showed an unexpected expansion of the herd.