GRAIN CALLS
Corn: 3 to 5 cents higher.
Soybeans: 3 to 5 cents higher.
Wheat: 3 to 5 cents higher.
GENERAL COMMENTS: Corn, soybeans and wheat favored the upside in overnight trade despite an overall risk-off tone in the general marketplace. Reports of China escalating trade barriers sparked weakness in equities overnight while the U.S. dollar index is trading new lows this morning. Front-month are sharply lower and giving up a significant portion of Friday’s gains.
China accused Washington of abusing tariffs and warned countries against striking a broader economic deal with the U.S. at its expense, ratcheting up its rhetoric in an escalating trade war between the two countries. Beijing will firmly oppose any party striking a deal at China’s expense and “will take countermeasures in a resolute and reciprocal manner,” its commerce ministry said. Meanwhile, China is shifting away from traditional tariffs and increasingly targeting U.S. firms with non-tariff trade weapons, analysts say, signaling a more strategic and punitive phase in the ongoing economic conflict. Beijing is also backing efforts by major Chinese e-commerce firms like Alibaba and JD.com to pivot exporters toward domestic markets, aiming to mitigate economic damage from U.S. tariffs and boost internal demand. While the shift aligns with broader state efforts to stimulate consumption after years of weak growth, analysts warn exporters may struggle to appeal to more cost-conscious Chinese consumers.
Japan is considering increasing its soybean and rice imports as a concession in trade negotiations with the U.S. over President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, Japan’s Yomiuri daily reported. In the first round of bilateral talks last Wednesday, U.S. negotiators brought up automobiles and rice as areas where they said Tokyo puts up market barriers, and they demanded that Japan import more meat, fish products and potatoes, the newspaper said.
An active weather pattern will be seen across much of the central U.S., with all major crop areas likely to be impacted during the next 10 days. The Ohio, Tennessee and lower Mississippi river basins will continue to deal with saturated fields and periodic flooding. Dry western HRW areas of the Plains are forecast to receive needed rains from midweek into next week.
CORN: July corn futures worked higher overnight, though continue consolidate in a bull flag on the daily bar chart. Resistance stands at $4.97 then the psychological $5.00 mark. Support comes in at $4.89 1/2 on continued resurgent selling pressure.
SOYBEANS: July soybean futures continue to consolidate in a sideways range. The $10.50 mark remains a key pivot, strength targets $10.59 while support comes in at $10.44. A break and close above or below those marks could indicate a near-term shift in direction.
WHEAT: July SRW futures continue to grind higher on the daily bar chart. Staunch support stems from the uptrend line at $5.60. Bulls are looking to close prices above the 40-day moving average at $5.65 1/2, which is backed by the April 11 high of $5.71.
LIVESTOCK CALLS
CATTLE: Higher.
HOGS: Choppy/lower.
CATTLE: Live cattle futures and feeders are expected to open higher, building on strength in the cash market. After last Thursday’s Cattle on Feed Report, cash cattle trade took a sharply higher tone, averaging $211.60 going into Friday, more than $4.00 higher than the previous week’s five-area average. That is likely to support futures, even with prices posting gains each day last week, though some profit-taking is possible. Wholesale beef ended last week lower with Choice cutout falling $1.38 to $331.52 while Select slipped 84 cents to $315.55.
HOGS: Lean hog futures are expected to open with a mostly weaker tone as prices continue to consolidate near technical resistance. June futures are near the upper end of the range that capped most of the upside in March and overbought conditions point to some potential consolidation before a continuation higher. Meanwhile, the CME lean hog index is up for the second consecutive day, rising a quarter to $85.46 as of April 17. Pork cutout surged Friday, climbing $4.22 to $97.00. A $14.44 jump in bellies led cutout higher, while butts and loins posted sharp gains as well.