GRAIN CALLS
Corn: 1 cent lower to 1 cent higher.
Soybeans: 1 cent lower to 1 cent higher.
Wheat: 2 to 4 cents lower.
GENERAL COMMENTS: Corn found stiff technical resistance at the 10-day moving average overnight, which pushed prices off recent highs. Soybeans and wheat saw modest, sustained selling pressure most of the overnight session. Reports of fresh, wide sweeping tariffs weighed on U.S. equities overnight, while front-month crude oil futures saw little volatility and are near unchanged. The U.S. dollar index is sharply lower this morning, down nearly 1000 points, as the jobs report was disappointing.
USDA reported daily export sales of 125,000 MT and 227,160 MT of corn for delivery to unknown destinations during the 2025-25 marketing year.
U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose by 73k jobs in July 2025 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, well below expectations of 110k. The June figure was sharply revised down from an initial 147K to just 14K, while May’s reading was also cut by 125K. Taken together, these revisions show that employment in May and June was 258K lower than previously reported—suggesting the labor market may be cooling more rapidly than initially anticipated. The unemployment rate rose to 4.2%, up from 4.1% in June.
President Trump late Thursday unveiled a batch of new tariffs on dozens of countries just ahead of the Aug. 1 U.S.-imposed deadline for new deals to be made. The baseline rates for many countries remain unchanged at 10% from the duties Trump imposed in April. Altogether, the average U.S. tariff rate will rise to 15.2% if rates are implemented as announced, according to Bloomberg Economics. That’s up from 13.3% earlier. Most of the tariffs will take effect on Aug. 7. Bloomberg Economics said Canada and Mexico are “well placed to weather the storm” thanks to carve-outs for goods compliant with the USMCA trade deal. Thursday’s new tariffs didn’t apply to China. Trump will decide whether to extend a tariff truce with China after talks with the U.S. wrapped in Stockholm, Sweden earlier this week.
The National Weather Service today reports there is a slight risk of excessive rainfall over parts of the northern U.S. Plains, southern high Plains and the southern Plains today and Saturday. There may be some severe thunderstorms in these regions, too, including wind gusts, hail, and occasional tornadoes. Localized flash flooding is also possible. Smoke from wildfires in Canada has prompted air quality alerts over the upper great lakes, upper Mississippi Valley and parts of the middle Mississippi valley regions today. On the positive side, the recent heat wave over much of the Midwest and Southeast has been mostly broken.
CORN: December corn futures struggled to maintain early bullish overnight momentum. Prices found stiff resistance at $4.15 3/4, the 10-day moving average. Support comes in at $4.10 on further selling pressure.
SOYBEANS: November soybean futures saw a fresh for-the-move low overnight. Prices have closed lower each day this week, with further selling finding support at $9.85 then $9.81. Resistance stands at $9.98 1/4 then the psychological $10.00 mark on a bounce.
WHEAT: December SRW futures traded within Thursday’s range overnight. Bulls are looking to hold support at $5.36 3/4 on persistent selling. Resistance stands at $5.44 1/2 then the psychological $5.50 mark.
LIVESTOCK CALLS
CATTLE: Choppy/higher.
HOGS: Mixed.
CATTLE: Live cattle and feeders are expected to open with a mostly firmer tone despite yesterday’s selling pressure. Traders will keep a close eye on the cash market today as negotiations so far this week have been light. There have been reports of packers struggling to find supplies, but contracted supplies available today should help alleviate some of that pressure. Cutout finished Thursday mixed with Choice slipping 67 cents to $361.21 while Select rose 46 cents to $341.37.
HOGS: Lean hog futures are expected to open with a mixed tone. August futures struggled to maintain early bullish momentum on Thursday with prices closing back near technical support. Cattle futures are likely to dictate price action in hog futures if there is another big move today. The CME Lean hog index is down 14 cents to $110.37 today, ending the string of recent gains. Pork cutout fell $2.00 to $114.00 Friday, led by a $10.83 plunge in primal bellies.