GRAIN CALLS
Corn: 1 cent lower to 1 cent higher.
Soybeans: 3 to 5 cents higher.
Wheat: 1 to 3 cents lower.
GENERAL COMMENTS: Soybeans led strength overnight and are trading above key resistance this morning. Corn and wheat need to participate to push soy prices higher in what appears to be a key technical move. Outside markets continue to see heightened volatility as front-month crude oil futures are working solidly higher while the U.S. dollar index is up over 270 points.
Latest on the war in Iran: --White House insists peace talks ongoing; Tehran rejects U.S. overtures
-- U.S. preparing options for “final blow” in Iran, may include ground forces, major bombing
--U.S. troop movements fan fears of a risky ground attack on Iran
--The Israel Defense Forces completes a wave of strikes in Isfahan in Iran
--Iran lawmakers working on a draft bill to impose safe passage toll for Strait of Hormuz
--U.S. has 15-point peace proposal that Pakistan delivered to Iran
-- Vice President JD Vance may travel to Pakistan for Iran talks this weekend, CNN reports --Trump social media post, just out: “The Iranian negotiators are very different and ‘strange.’ They are ‘begging’ us to make a deal, which they should be doing since they have been militarily obliterated, with zero chance of a comeback, and yet they publicly state that they are only ‘looking at our proposal.’ WRONG!!! They better get serious soon, before it is too late, because once that happens, there is NO TURNING BACK, and it won’t be pretty! President DJT”
President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold their summit meeting in Beijing on May 14-15, following a delay due to the war with Iran. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced at midday Wednesday that Xi would visit Washington at a date later this year, and said the administration has “always estimated approximately four-to-six weeks” for the war in Iran to be completed. “The rescheduled meeting will pose a test of how comfortable Trump and Xi are with the status quo on trade, U.S. support for Taiwan, and the fallout from the U.S. strikes on Iran that spurred a spike in oil prices,” said Bloomberg. “There was a discussion about the rescheduling of the meeting between the President and President Xi. President Xi understood that it’s very important for the President to be here throughout these combat operations right now. He understood, obviously the request to postpone and accepted it, which is why we have new dates on the books,” Leavitt said. China and the U.S. remained in communication about Trump’s visit, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a regular briefing in Beijing.
Export sales for the week ended March 19:
- Corn: Net sales of 1.218 MMT for 2025-26 were up 4% from the previous week but down 10% from the four-week average. Increases came primarily for Mexico and Colombia. Sales came in the upper end of pre-report expectations ranging from 700,000 MT to 1.5 MMT.
- Soybeans: Net sales of 668,900 MT for 2025-26 were up noticeably from the previous week and 89% from the four-week average. China led purchases, followed by Germany and Mexico. Sales were above pre-report expectations ranging from 200,000 to 500,000 MT.
- Wheat: Net sales of 397,200 MT for 2025-26 were up noticeably from the previous week and 46% from the four-week average. Increases came primarily for Philippines and Taiwan. Sales came in the upper end of pre-report expectations ranging from 100,000 to 400,000 MT.
CORN: May corn futures traded in a tight range overnight. Bulls are eyeing resistance at $4.68 on strength. Bulls are looking to hold prices above the 10-day moving average at $4.62 1/20
SOYBEANS: May soybeans are poking above the 20-day moving average this morning, a key technical level at $11.71 that has capped most of the upside since last Monday. Key support stands at $11.55 1/2 under the market. Resistance stands at $11.80 on persistent strength.
WHEAT: May SRW futures struggled to maintain early overnight gains. Support stands at $5.90, the 20-day moving average, on persistent selling. Bulls are looking to topple resistance at the psychological $6.00 level on a bounce.
LIVESTOCK CALLS
CATTLE: Choppy/higher.
HOGS: Choppy/higher.
CATTLE: Live cattle futures are expected to open with a mostly firmer tone, supported by technical buying. Bulls are looking to build on yesterday’s bounce off 100-day moving average support. Cash trade remains slow so far this week, averaging $236.00 thus far. Choice beef saw heavy pressure Wednesday, plunging $8.22 to $391.69. Those losses will be short lived, especially considering select boxed beef ended the day a $3.80 premium over choice.
HOGS: Lean hogs are expected to open with a mostly firmer tone amid technical support. Prices bounced early Wednesday on profit-taking, which could continue today, but persistent weakness in the cash market could continue to undercut futures. The CME lean hog index is down another nickel to $91.65 as of March 24. Pork cutout slid another 57 cents to $96.40 Wednesday amid losses in bellies and hams, though movement surged to an impressive 396.9 loads.