GRAIN CALLS
Corn: Steady to 2 cents higher.
Soybeans: 4 to 7 cents higher.
Wheat: 2 to 5 cents lower.
GENERAL COMMENTS: Soybeans and corn saw modest strength overnight on corrective buying while wheat favored the downside. Limits are expanded in the soy complex today following yesterday’s limit lower move in beans and bean oil. Outside markets are mixed this morning as the U.S. dollar index is trading just above unchanged while front-month crude oil futures are trading higher.
Latest on the war in Iran: –Oil jumps as Iran steps up attacks on infrastructure
–Israel says Iran security chief Larijani killed in airstrike
–Iran’s new supreme leader rejects proposals for reducing tensions with U.S.
–International Maritime Organization chief says naval escorts won’t guarantee safe passage through Strait of Hormuz
–UAE suspends operations at natural gas field in UAE after a drone attack
–Key UAE report of Fujairah suspends oil loadings
President Donald Trump Monday afternoon said the timetable for a planned summit meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, scheduled to take place in China March 31 to April 2, was now in flux as he deals with the conflict in the Middle East. “I don’t know, we’re working on that right now,” Trump told reporters. “We’re speaking to China. I’d love to, but because of the war, I want to be here. I have to be here, I feel,” he said, adding that the U.S. had requested that “we delay it a month or so.” Trump and administration officials emphasized the demands of managing the war as the reason for the delay. In contrast, Trump on Sunday had told the Financial Times that he might delay the summit due to the administration’s ire over China’s lack of commitment to joining an effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The nationwide average retail price for diesel hit $5.044 a gallon on Monday, according to the American Automobile Association, extending its sharp rise since the start of the war with Iran. The average price was $3.651 a month earlier, according to AAA. Diesel hasn’t been above $5 a gallon since December 2022. Diesel has led fuel prices higher as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz extends a chokehold on shipments of crude oil, fuels, natural gas, fertilizer and other commodities.
CORN: May corn futures have held near the 10-day moving average at $4.55 1/2. Additional selling finds support at $4.50, while resistance comes in at $4.60.
SOYBEANS: May soybeans bounced overnight following Monday’s limit lower performance. Resistance stands at $11.74 1/2, the 20-day moving average, on a bounce. Bulls are seeking to hold support at $11.50, which capped most of the downside overnight, on another turn lower.
WHEAT: May SRW futures traded on either side of unchanged overnight. Support comes in at $5.84 1/4 on persistent selling pressure. Bulls are looking to tackle resistance at $6.00 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 the recent downtrend. Some additional strength is possible, but prices are in the upper end of the recent downward sloping channel, which is likely to ignite selling efforts. Last week’s cash cattle average slid $5.11 to $234.83. Choice beef surged $4.74 to $402.66 Monday and is closing in on last year’s high. While cattle futures shrugged off the JBS strike in an apparent “sell the rumor, buy the fact” scenario, the impact on boxed beef was more pronounced.
HOGS: Lean hogs are expected to open with a mostly weaker tone in a continuation of the recent downtrend. Weaker than normal gains in the CME lean hog index have been weighing on futures recently. The index is up another 16 cents to $91.76 as of March 13. Typically, this time of year the index climbs higher about 25¢ to 40¢ per day. Pork cutout rose 25 cents to $100.44 Monday, led by gains in butts.