GRAIN CALLS
Corn: 4 to 6 cents lower.
Soybeans: 30 to 33 cents lower.
Wheat: SRW 4 to 6 cents higher, HRW steady to 2 cents higher.
GENERAL COMMENTS: Soybeans led weakness overnight amid concerns over China’s absence from the U.S. market following a meeting between the countries officials this weekend. Corn and wheat did not fare too bad considering the losses seen in soybeans. Front-month crude oil futures are favoring the downside this morning though losses are somewhat minimal given the recent volatility. Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar index is down around 400 points, just below the key 100 level.
Latest on the war in Iran: --Trump says Iran wants to end war; Tehran says no proposal
--Trump calls for countries to send warships to reopen Strait of Hormuz
--EU considers naval mission shift to protect Strait of Hormuz
--Iran strikes Dubai airport
--UAE’s Fujairah oil port hit again as oil loadings at key the port suspended
--Iran tests NATO’s boundaries with missiles fired at Turkey
--U.S. Energy chief signals Iran war may last several more weeks
--Oil market set for tumultuous week as Kharg attack raises stakes
--World’s central banks confront fresh inflation threat as war jolts crude oil
--U.S. calls for Americans to leave Iraq “now” as attacks mount
--Israel says Iran is firing cluster warheads aimed at civilians
--India talks with Iran to prioritize strait passage for six LPG tankers
President Trump threatened to delay his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping if Beijing doesn’t help secure the Strait of Hormuz, as the U.S.-Israel war stifles oil supplies and unsettles ties between the world’s biggest economies. Trump stressed China’s dependence on oil from the Middle East in an interview with the Financial Times and as reported by Bloomberg, as he reiterated a demand for Beijing to help unblock the key waterway. Trump has appealed to China to join a team effort to send ships to the strait through which a fifth of the world’s oil supply passes. “It’s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there,” Trump said Sunday in the FT interview. His trip to Beijing, slated for the end of this month, would be too late, Trump added, underscoring the growing urgency around efforts to counter Iran’s chokehold on the strait. “While China hasn’t made any direct response to the request, the state-run Global Times dismissed the idea as Trump’s attempt to spread the risk ‘of a war that Washington started and can’t finish.’ The commentary published by the nationalist tabloid on Sunday night explained why Beijing wouldn’t sign up to the proposal,” said Bloomberg. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian sidestepped the issue of sending ships to the strait on Monday at a regular briefing in Beijing, while reiterating both sides were in communication about the summit. “Head of state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable role in providing strategic guidance to China-US relations,” he added, without specifying a timeframe for the leaders’ meeting. Trump’s comments come as Chinese and U.S. trade chiefs are convening in Paris ahead of the summit, with talks set to resume today.
The Trump administration has started the process of a mammoth drawdown of the U.S. emergency oil reserve, issuing a request to exchange 86 million barrels of crude oil, Bloomberg reported. Deliveries from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, part of a massive 172 million-barrel release announced last week, are expected to begin moving to market by the end of this week, the Energy Department said in a statement Friday. The release, which is expected to take four months to complete, is part of a 400 million-barrel effort coordinated with other nations aimed at lowering crude, gasoline, diesel and jet fuel prices that have climbed dramatically since the U.S.-Israel invasion of Iran.
CORN: May corn futures saw modest selling overnight. Support stands at $4.60 then 4.56 1/2, the 10-day moving average, on persistent selling pressure. Resistance stands at last Thursday’s high of $4.69 1/2 on a bounce.
SOYBEANS: May soybeans led weakness overnight. Support comes in at $11.85 then $11.70, the 20-day moving average, on continued selling pressure. Initial resistance now stands at the psychological $12.00 mark on a bounce, which is reinforced by resistance at $12.10.
WHEAT: May SRW futures saw modest selling pressure overnight. Bulls are looking to hold support at the psychological $6.00 mark on persistent selling pressure. Resistance stands at $6.10 then $6.14 1/4 on a bounce.
LIVESTOCK CALLS
CATTLE: Choppy/lower.
HOGS: Choppy/lower.
CATTLE: Live cattle futures are expected to open with a mostly weaker tone in a continuation of recent selling pressure. Prices have begun trending lower on the daily bar chart and cash cattle values continue to erode as well. Choice beef meanwhile continues to exhibit impressive strength, rising another 83 cents to $397.92 on Friday.
HOGS: Lean hogs are expected to open with a mostly weaker tone in a continuation of recent selling pressure. Weakness in cattle continues to spillover to the hog market, giving bears the technical edge. The CME lean hog index is up another 16 cents to $91.60 as of March 12. Pork cutout slid 10 cents to $100.19 Friday, led by losses in butts and loins. Cutout remaining above $100.00 is a good sign for bulls.