GRAIN CALLS
Corn: 2 to 6 cents higher
Soybeans: Unchanged to 4 cents higher
Wheat: Winter wheat 2 to 6 cents lower, HRS 4 to 8 cents lower
GENERAL COMMENTS: Corn saw mostly rangebound trade overnight, ultimately ending slightly higher and holding above the $5.00 mark. Soybeans and wheat also faced pressure, though soybeans were able to see strength near the end of the overnight and end nearer the session high. Outside markets see West Texas crude roughly $2.00 higher at $87.85. The U.S. dollar index is even to five points lower at roughly 98.75.
USDA reported flash sales of 712,000 metric tons of soybeans for delivery to China during the 2026/2027 marketing year. Separately, USDA also reported 720,000 metric tons of soybeans for delivery to unknown destinations for the 2026/2027 marketing year.
Also reported was the sale of 205,000 metric tons of corn for delivery to unknown destinations during the 2026/2027 marketing year.
The detection of New World Screwworm in the Mexican state of Sonora on Wednesday threatens to complicate the planned Aug. 24 reopening of the U.S.-Mexico border to Mexican cattle imports, reports Angie Denton of Drovers. Sonora is just south of Arizona. The case was reported in a cow in the southern region of the state. USDA has previously emphasized that the reopening schedule is flexible and could be paused if authorities detect an increased risk on either side of the border.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that he’s prepared to expand efforts to buy back costlier U.S. government debt and that the Trump administration will be unveiling a new fiscal initiative to address the highest borrowing costs in years. “We are announcing probably at the end of this week, beginning of next week, an increased focus on fiscal consolidation,” Bessent said in an interview Thursday on CNBC and as reported by Bloomberg. He told reporters separately that President Trump had tasked himself and Budget Director Russ Vought in that initiative. Bessent spoke after the Treasury Department said Wednesday that it would increase “by at least double” the size of buybacks for longer-dated securities. Thursday, he explained the move — which came as a surprise to market participants — was intended to ensure orderly trading in a “thin” summer market, and to get investors to focus on “fundamentals.” The impact in the bond market was short-lived, with U.S. 30-year bonds erasing gains Thursday. Ten-year note yields were also up on the day. Bessent played down Thursday’s market moves, saying “anything that happens within a 24-hour period is noise.” And he highlighted that the expanded buyback operations “could be more than the $4 billion” size currently planned to start next month. Asked how much more the Treasury is willing to do to get bond yields down, Bessent said, “We have a big toolkit, so we’ll see. And part of it is signaling here — to show that we believe that the yields don’t reflect the underlying fundamentals.” Wednesday’s announcement followed 30-year Treasury yields reaching their highest in almost two decades, and 10-year rates getting to levels unseen since before Trump took office.
Disappointing earnings from Walmart sent shares of the largest U.S. retailer sliding more than 9% on Thursday, dragging down major stock indexes. The company reported the weakest sales growth in six years, amplifying concerns about the strength of the consumer – a particular concern for the cattle market where signs of resistance to higher beef prices have begun to emerge. A recent Bloomberg report noted beef sales volume fell 0.3% in the 13 weeks ending in mid-July while sales volumes for less expensive proteins rose 2%.
CORN: December corn traded slightly higher overnight, holding above the $5.00 mark, and finds firmer support at the 10-day moving average of $4.88. Next resistance for corn is the May 13 high of $5.06 1/2.
SOYBEANS: November soybeans also dipped overnight but well off the lows. Support is at the 10-day moving average of $12.13 1/4, then this week’s low of $11.88 1/4. Resistance remains at the July high close of $12.53 1/2.
WHEAT: September SRW sees first resistance at this week’s high of $6.91 1/4, then the key $7.00 mark. Support remains at the 10- and 40-day moving averages of $6.66 3/4 and $6.51 1/2.
LIVESTOCK CALLS
CATTLE: Choppy/lower
HOGS: Lower
CATTLE: Live and feeder cattle are likely to see more technical selling to close the week. News on Walmart seeing reduced beef demand may weigh on the markets again today. Cash trade so far this week has averaged $225.28 for steers, down from last week’s average, which is also pressuring futures.
HOGS: Lean hogs continue their downtrend after notching a two-month low yesterday. Seasonally, supplies are expected to increase in the coming weeks which gives an edge to the bears. The latest CME lean hog index is $93.96, with today’s projected index down 24 cents to $93.72.