GRAIN CALLS
Corn: 2 to 5 cents higher.
Soybeans: 7 to 9 cents higher.
Wheat: 6 to 8 cents higher.
GENERAL COMMENTS: Soybeans broke higher, out of the recent sideways trading range overnight. Grains continue to lead strength with wheat posting solid gains for the sixth session out of the last seven. Front-month crude oil futures posted solid gains early in the overnight session but have since faded to just modestly higher. The U.S. dollar index is trading around 550 points lower and back below par.
A heatwave sweeping across northern China prompted authorities to issue alerts and roll out measures to ensure water supply and protect food production. The National Meteorological Center issued a yellow alert – the third highest – warning temperatures could exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104 F) in parts of Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan and Hubei provinces and persist through Thursday. Technicians are deploying drones equipped with sensors to monitor fields, assessing leaf water content and soil moisture to guide efficient irrigation. Officials are also guiding farmers in using light, targeted irrigation techniques to water their crops effectively, closely monitoring reservoir storage levels and optimizing water allocation plans. Much of China’s winter wheat crop in these areas is in the peak grain-filling stage.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told lawmakers Tuesday the forthcoming “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) report will not disparage American farmers or widely used agricultural chemicals such as glyphosate. Testifying before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee, Kennedy pushed back against Republican concerns that the MAHA Commission’s findings would unfairly criticize modern farming. Kennedy said, “The drafts that I’ve seen, there is not a single word in them that should worry the American farmer.” The MAHA Commission report is set for release on Thursday. Kennedy declined to preview recommendations, urging lawmakers instead to review the full document once published.
The House Rules Committee worked through the night and into Wednesday morning on a sweeping legislative package backed by President Donald Trump that includes a debt ceiling increase, tax cuts, Medicaid restrictions, and a decade-long path to spending reductions. Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said just after midnight that negotiators had struck a deal with key Republican holdouts over changes to the 2017 cap on the federal deduction for state and local taxes (SALT) — a major sticking point. The last-minute compromises will be packaged in a manager’s amendment, which had not yet been released as of early this morning. Committee debate is expected to continue for several more hours before a vote on advancing the bill to the House floor. GOP leaders acknowledged the bill faces significant uncertainty in the Senate, where changes are likely.
CORN: July corn futures saw followthrough strength overnight. Continued strength finds resistance at $4.58 then the 40-day moving average at $4.64 3/4. Support comes in at the 10-day moving average at $4.52 then the psychological $4.50 mark on a reversal lower.
SOYBEANS: July soybean futures broke out of the recent sideways trading range overnight. Continued strength has bulls targeting resistance at $10.62 1/2, which is reinforced by the 200-day moving average at $10.65 1/4. Support comes in at $10.59 then $10.56, the 10-day moving average, on a reversal back lower.
WHEAT: July SRW futures continue to lead strength. Gains stopped right on uptrend resistance at $5.52 overnight, marking that as initial resistance. Strength above that mark targets resistance at $5.60 3/4, the 100-day moving average. Support comes in at the psychological $5.50 mark then the 40-day moving average at $5.43 1/2 on a reversal lower.
LIVESTOCK CALLS
CATTLE: Choppy/higher.
HOGS: Higher.
CATTLE: Live cattle and feeders are expected to open with a mostly firmer tone as traders continue to shore up discounts to the cash market. Traders are patiently awaiting cash cattle trade this week, which remains slow with a few hundred head trading hands at $219.00 in Kansas, a little over $1.00 lower than last week’s average for the region. Wholesale beef continues to work higher, with Choice climbing another $3.94 on Tuesday to $358.75. That marks the second highest quote behind the Covid driven spike in 2020. Select rose another 85 cents to $344.96.
HOGS: Lean hog futures are expected to open higher in a continuation of yesterday’s strength. The CME lean hog index is up another 39 cents to $91.85 as of May 19, a fresh for-the-move high. Traders remain hesitant to extend premiums in summer futures as uncertainty regarding exports has driven concerns over demand into seasonally low pork production. Pork cutout fell 57 cents to $100.52 on Tuesday, led lower by losses in loins and picnics.