GRAIN CALLS
Corn: 4 to 6 cents higher.
Soybeans: 4 to 6 cents higher.
Wheat: 4 to 6 cents higher.
GENERAL COMMENTS: Corn, soybeans and wheat each favored the upside in overnight trade. Soybean bulls are again challenging the $12.00 mark, a key psychological level that has capped most of the upside the past month and a half. Front-month crude oils are down on profit-taking this morning while the U.S. dollar index is down around 140 points.
USDA reported daily sales of 148,240 MT of corn for delivery to unknown destinations. Of the total, 78,240 MT is for delivery during 2025-26, while the remaining 70,000 MT is for delivery during 2026-27.
President Trump vowed to maintain a naval blockade on Iran and was briefed by commanders on further military options. Iran’s speaker of parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said the blockade will further push up oil prices and that it must be lifted for new talks to occur. Trump and Iranian leaders are waiting for the other to yield first, with Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, casting doubt on the likelihood of any deal and vowing not to give up the country’s nuclear or missile technologies.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said American officials discussed a possible “Board of Trade” in a call with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng Thursday, casting it as a tool that could help manage economic ties between the two nations, Bloomberg reported. Greer and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in the call “highlighted the role that a new government-to-government Board of Trade could play in optimizing bilateral trade in non-sensitive goods,” Greer said in a social media post, adding that they also discussed “the importance of agricultural market access in China for U.S. producers.” The U.S. and China, the world’s two largest economies, have been considering creating a new mechanism that could help oversee their trade ties and manage bilateral concerns that have flared in recent years. Greer floated the idea of a Board of Trade in March, following talks in Paris between the two countries aimed at laying the groundwork for the upcoming summit between President Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, set for May 14-15.
CORN: July corn futures made up Thursday’s loss overnight. Bulls are eyeing recent highs at $4.80 on continued strength. Support comes in at yesterday’s low of $4.71 1/4 on a reversal lower.
SOYBEANS: July soybeans still face headwinds at the $12.00 mark. Two consecutive closes above that mark would be a bullish indication the sideways range has come to an end. Support comes in at the 10-day moving average at $11.89 3/4 on a reversal lower.
WHEAT: July SRW futures saw modest gains overnight. Bulls are eyeing psychological resistance at $6.50 on persistent strength. Bulls are seeking to hold support at the overnight low of $6.34, which is reinforced by the 10-day moving average at $6.30 1/2.
LIVESTOCK CALLS
CATTLE: Choppy/higher.
HOGS: Choppy/higher.
CATTLE: Live cattle futures are expected to open with a mostly firmer tone in a continuation of recent strength. Futures saw modest selling pressure amid profit-taking on Thursday, but persistent strength in the cash market, which looks to boast a record high this week, is likely to underpin gains. The five-area average so far this week is at $255.01 on an impressive 30,024 head. Choice beef rebounded $1.47 to $389.52 Thursday.
HOGS: Lean hogs are expected to open with a mostly firmer tone. Price fell in the lower end of the recent range on Thursday, likely to spur corrective strength today. Strength has slowly returned to the CME lean hog index, as it is up another dime to $91.41 as of April 29. Pork cutout meanwhile slid 43 cents to $96.76 Thursday, led by losses in butts.