GRAIN CALLS
Corn: Steady to 2 cents higher.
Soybeans: 4 to 6 cents higher.
Wheat: Steady to 2 cents higher.
GENERAL COMMENTS: Corn, soybeans and wheat each favored the upside on corrective buying overnight. Bulls are looking to build on those gains to negate some of the recent technical damage. Front-month crude oil futures are trading near unchanged amid back and forth rhetoric around whether a deal between the U.S. and Iran is on the table. The U.S. dollar index is trading around 50 points higher.
USDA reported daily sales of 493,700 MT of corn for delivery to Mexico, 110,000 MT of corn for delivery to unknown destinations and 252,000 MT of soymeal for delivery to unknown destinations.
An attack on a nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates this week has raised fears about the scope of Iran’s retaliation to a potential U.S. resumption of strikes, with experts highlighting the greater role Tehran-backed militias in Iraq are playing in the war, Bloomberg reports. The UAE said this week that a drone targeting its Barakah plant on Sunday was launched from Iraq, condemning it as a “terrorist” act. Anwar Gargash, a senior adviser to President Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed, blamed “Iranian militias in Iraq” for the incident, in a social media post. It’s “a grave indicator of the scale of the threat facing the region,” Gargash said. The incident forced the plant to activate backup power, one of the last lines of defense to maintain nuclear safety. Barakah is the Middle East’s largest nuclear power plant and one of two active in the region. “This was a warning shot by Iran” about what might be in store for the UAE and the rest of the Gulf if hostilities with Israel and the U.S. reignite, said Mohammed Baharoon, director of the Dubai Public Policy Research Center.
The S&P 500 is heading for its longest streak of weekly wins since 2023 despite dimming hopes that the U.S. and Iran are moving closer to a peace deal. Unrelenting enthusiasm for artificial intelligence keeps on driving equities higher. The S&P 500 stock index is on track for an eighth straight week of gains. Equities are looking to end the week on a positive note, shaking off worries that severe disruptions to energy flows could stoke inflation. Signs that neither Iran nor the U.S. is looking to widen their conflict and growing appetite for a broader group of AI beneficiaries have kept volatility low despite often conflicting reports around peace talks.
CORN: July corn futures bounced modestly overnight. Resistance stands at $4.67 on continued strength. Support comes in at the 200-day moving average at $4.60 3/4 on resurgent selling pressure.
SOYBEANS: July soybean futures bounced off 40-day moving average support overnight. That level continues as a key technical benchmark at $11.93 1/4. Resistance comes in at the psychological $12.00 mark then $12.10 on persistent strength.
WHEAT: July SRW wheat are trading near 20-day moving average support at $6.43. That is quickly reinforced by support at $6.40. Bulls are eyeing resistance at $6.50 on a bounce.
LIVESTOCK CALLS
CATTLE: Choppy/lower.
HOGS: Choppy/higher.
CATTLE: Cattle futures are expected to open with a mostly weaker tone in a continuation of recent selling pressure. Prices looked poised to test the 40-day moving average at $247.80, which limited the downside a couple weeks ago. Despite the push lower in futures, the cash market continues to work higher, with the five-area average coming in at $264.35 so far this week. Choice beef slid $2.14 to $391.48 Thursday. Traders will keep a close eye on the Cattle on Feed report this afternoon, which is expected to show the first jump in on-feed numbers from a year-ago in 18 months.
HOGS: Hog futures are expected to open with a mostly firmer tone on corrective buying, but a continuation of Thursday’s selling pressure can’t be ruled out. Bulls are looking to build on recent gains in the CME lean hog index, which is up another 7 cents to $91.07 as of May 20. Pork cutout rose 17 cents to $95.64 Thursday, led by gains in picnics and loins, though a $6.45 drop in bellies limited the upside.