GRAIN CALLS
Corn: Steady to 2 cents lower.
Soybeans: 2 to 4 cents higher.
Wheat: 1 cent lower to 1 cent higher.
GENERAL COMMENTS: Corn and wheat hit fresh contract lows overnight while soybeans saw relative strength. Corn seems poised for a test of the psychological $4.00 level. Outside markets are supportive this morning as front-month crude oil futures are around $1.00 higher on corrective strength while the U.S. dollar index is around 300 points lower.
President Trump said he would impose increased tariffs on countries buying energy from Russia. Trump also said he’d raise tariffs on India “very substantially over the next 24 hours,” and that levies on semiconductor and pharmaceutical imports would be announced “within the next week or so.” Trump said the U.S. is “very close to a deal” with China to extend a trade truce, but would impose tariffs on additional countries, including China, if necessary, saying “we’ll be doing quite a bit of that.” China’s Shanghai Composite stock index rose 0.45% on Wednesday, while the Shenzhen Component gained 0.64%, marking a third straight session of gains as optimism grew over progress in U.S.-China trade talks. China’s offshore yuan currency fell to around 7.19 per U.S. dollar on Wednesday, as investors responded cautiously to the latest updates on the U.S.-China trade truce.
China’s investigation on beef imports has been extended into November, after originally being slated to end this month, according to Bloomberg. China is the world’s top buyer of beef, which means its imports are tracked closely by the global market. The country’s overseas purchases have climbed in recent years, alongside rising domestic production as the government urged farmers to raise more cattle at home. That’s strained the local industry as a slowing economy now prompts consumers to cut back, leaving beef supplies piling up in freezers. China’s wholesale beef prices fell to the lowest level since 2019 earlier this year. Share prices of major meatpackers including JBS SA and Marfrig Global Foods SA dropped when the China probe began late last year, with Beijing signaling at the time it was likely to be completed within eight months. Brazil, Australia and Argentina rank among the countries that supply beef to China.
Mosaic Co., the world’s leading producer of two key crop fertilizers, said U.S. tariffs are limiting shipments to the U.S. Phosphate deliveries to the U.S. are “tracking well below last year,” with levies applicable to most sources of the fertilizer, the company said in its earnings release. Demand elsewhere in the world is absorbing some of the volumes no longer bound for the U.S., Mosaic said. The company posted an $8 million loss in its phosphate earnings in the second quarter. China is the world’s biggest producer of the crop input. Mosaic said rising prices for phosphate and potash, another key fertilizer, boosted second-quarter net potash sales up from the prior year, while offsetting lower phosphate volumes to keep sales flat. Potash, largely produced in Canada, is among the goods exempt from U.S. tariffs under a North American trade agreement, according to Bloomberg.
CORN: December corn futures hit a fresh contract low overnight, just a tick above the psychological $4.00 mark, which stands as key support. A splash below that level is possible, but a close below $4.00 would be a bearish indication. Resistance comes in at $4.07 1/2 on a bounce.
SOYBEANS: November soybean futures saw modest strength overnight. Resistance stands at the psychological $10.00 mark on continued strength, which capped gains yesterday. Support comes in at last week’s low of $9.86 on a reversal lower.
WHEAT: December SRW futures hit a fresh contract low overnight. Support comes in at the psychological $5.25 mark on persistent weakness. Resistance stands at $5.37 on a bounce.
LIVESTOCK CALLS
CATTLE: Higher.
HOGS: Choppy/higher.
CATTLE: Live cattle and feeders are expected to open higher in a continuation of recent strength. Futures traded to fresh highs on Tuesday amid ongoing strength in the cash cattle market driven by tight supplies. That strength is likely to continue until the cash market signals a market top is in place. Cash trade has been light so far this week, with minimal trade taking place at $240.00. Wholesale beef continued to rebound Tuesday, with Choice rising another $4.15 to $369.94 while Select surged $4.35 to $345.94.
HOGS: Lean hog futures are expected to open with a mostly firmer tone in a continuation of Tuesday’s technical breakout. Spillover strength from the cattle market is likely helping support lean hogs as prices have seen technical strength despite persistent weakness in the cash hog market. The CME lean hog index is down another 43 cents to $109.56, the biggest drop in the recent string of losses. Pork cutout meanwhile continues to stabilize, with boxed pork rising 33 cents to $118.12 Tuesday, led by gains in bellies and hams.