GRAIN CALLS
Corn: Steady to 2 cents lower.
Soybeans: 1 to 3 cents lower.
Wheat: 1 to 3 cents higher.
GENERAL COMMENTS: Corn, soybeans and wheat each traded on either side of unchanged overnight. Corn and beans favored the downside going into the break while wheat saw relative strength. Equity markets built on overnight strength following this morning’s jobs report. Front-month crude oil futures are trading near unchanged while the U.S. dollar index is around 450 points higher.
This morning’s nonfarm payrolls report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the U.S. added 139k jobs in May, down slightly from April’s downwardly revised 147K, but slightly above forecasts of 130K. Employment continues to trend higher in the service industry while the federal government continues to lose jobs. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2% in May, matching market expectations. The rate has remained in a tight 4.0% to 4.2% range since May 2024. The labor force participation rate did decline 0.2% to 62.4% though, matching a two-year low, indicating less people are looking for employment.
The U.S. and China have agreed to hold additional trade discussions following a lengthy and reportedly “very positive” phone call between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday. According to U.S. officials, the call focused on recent tariff escalations and potential avenues to revive stalled trade negotiations. The addition of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in upcoming trade talks signals Trump may be willing to consider reversing some of the technology curbs that threaten to hobble China’s long-term growth ambitions. Xi’s statement after the call also made clear he expects the U.S. to “remove the negative measures taken against China,” which could include warnings against the use of Huawei‘s Ascend chips and restriction on the sale of chip design software to China. A date for the next round of formal trade talks has not been announced, but U.S. officials indicated they are aiming to arrange face-to-face meetings before the G20 summit in Osaka next month.
Japan and the U.S. are engaged in high-stakes trade negotiations in Washington, aiming to finalize a broad agreement before the upcoming G7 summit in Canada. Led by Japan’s chief trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, the talks focus on resolving escalating U.S. tariffs and forging deeper economic cooperation. Japan is pushing for relief from U.S. tariffs — especially the 25% auto levy and the looming across-the-board increase to 24% in July. In exchange, Tokyo is offering to expand Japanese vehicle manufacturing in the U.S. and help boost U.S.-made auto exports abroad.
CORN: July corn futures continue to trade in a tight, sideways range. Bulls are seeking to hold support at yesterday’s for-the-move low at $4.33 1/4. Resistance stands at the 10-day moving average at $4.43 1/2 on a push higher.
SOYBEANS: July soybean futures saw profit-taking overnight. Prices held support at $10.48, weakness below that mark eyes support at $10.40. Resistance stands at yesterday’s high of $10.56 3/4 on a push higher.
WHEAT: July SRW futures traded on either side of unchanged overnight. Bulls are looking to overcome yesterday’s high of $5.49 1/4 on added strength, with resistance at $5.56 1/4 above that mark. Support comes in at $5.41 1/2, the 40-day moving average, then $5.38 on a push lower.
LIVESTOCK CALLS
CATTLE: Higher.
HOGS: Higher.
CATTLE: Live cattle and feeders are expected to open higher in a continuation of yesterday’s surge to all-time highs. Traders actively removed discounts to the cash market on Thursday as both fats and feeders saw robust gains. Cash cattle trade has developed at higher prices as the week has gone on, also supporting futures. Feedlots continue to hold out for even higher prices, which has limited trade thus far this week. Choice cutout continues to work higher as well, rising another $1.69 to $366.85 on Thursday, while Select dipped 11 cents to $356.61.
HOGS: Lean hog futures are expected to open higher amid strengthening cash fundamentals. After gains slowed mid-week in the CME lean hog index, they picked up again today, as the index up another 82 cents to $97.57 as of June 4. Pork cutout is building on recent strength as well, breaking out of the recent consolidation range. Cutout rose $1.50 to $108.12 on Thursday, led higher by strength in bellies, though all cuts except ribs and hams posted gains on the day.