Corn: December corn rose 5 1/2 cents to $4.73, near mid-range and hit a six-week high. The corn futures market today saw speculator buying interest and likely more big hedge-fund short covering as a persistent heat wave envelops the Plains states into the far western Corn Belt.
Soybeans: November soybeans surged 23 1/4 cents to $12.26 1/4, nearer the daily high and hit a 3.5-year high for the contract. September soybean meal rose $4.10 to $321.20, nearer the daily high and hit a two-month high. September soybean oil fell 11 points to 73.82 cents, near mid-range. The soybean market saw strong speculative buying today as weather in the Midwest is heating up for late July. Fresh demand news also boosted the soybean and meal markets.
Wheat: September SRW fell 8 3/4 cents to $6.74, near the daily low. September HRW lost 8 1/2 cents to $7.23 3/4, near the daily low and hit a nine-week high early on. September spring wheat futures rose 1/2 cent to $6.92 1/4, nearer the daily low. The winter wheat futures markets saw profit-taking pressure from recent good gains. A firmer U.S. dollar index today was also negative for wheat futures.
Cotton: December cotton futures rose 29 points to 78.92 cents, nearer the daily low. Cotton futures today saw a corrective bounce after two straight sessions of losses. Higher corn and soybean futures prices today were bullish outside-market elements for cotton.
Cattle: August live cattle rose $2.10 to $226.525, nearer the daily high. August feeder cattle gained $6.05 to $352.00, near the daily high. The live and feeder cattle futures markets today saw solid short covering and perceived bargain buying by the speculators following recent strong losses.
Hogs: August lean hog futures fell $0.375 to $101.275, near the daily low and hit a seven-week high early on. The lean hog futures market saw a pause today following recent good gains that have been fueled by chart-based speculators. Bullish futures traders have been encouraged by recently rising cash hog prices.