GRAIN CALLS
Corn: Steady to 2 cents higher.
Soybeans: 13 to 15 cents higher.
Wheat: 4 to 6 cents higher.
GENERAL COMMENTS: Soybeans led strength overnight, negating much of Friday’s selling pressure. Corn and wheat favored the upside as well to a lesser degree. Today’s close will be important for each market as technical damage was done on Friday. Outside markets are mixed this morning as front-month crude oil futures and the U.S. dollar index are modestly higher, while equity futures continue to favor the downside.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has announced it will release the September U.S. jobs report this Thursday, Nov. 20, after it was delayed due to the U.S. government shutdown. The BLS will also issue September inflation-adjusted earnings Friday, Nov. 21, and the reports will come out at 7:30 a.m. CST. The new data will help shed light on the state of the U.S. economy, though the data will be more backward-looking than usual.
A Bloomberg opinion story over the weekend highlighted President Trump calling on the U.S. Justice Department to investigate the so-called Big Four meatpacking conglomerates “that have a hammerlock on beef processing, distribution and pricing in the U.S.” Trump’s allegations are serious: price fixing, collusion and market manipulation by what he calls “foreign-owned meatpacking cartels.” Trump posted on his social network “Action must be taken immediately to protect consumers, combat Illegal monopolies, and ensure these corporations are not criminally profiting at the expense of the American people.”
In markets awash in “garbage lending” and unhealthy stock valuations, Jeffrey Gundlach is keeping his strategy simple: load up on cash and stay away from private credit, Bloomberg reports. “One of Wall Street’s bond kings is spotting overpriced assets almost everywhere he looks…. Gundlach called out nosebleed valuations in the equity market and warned investors against ‘incredibly speculative’ bets,” said the report. The DoubleLine Capital founder recommends a 20% cash position to hedge against a market implosion — one he sees brewing in unsafe lending to private companies and overblown hopes for artificial intelligence. “The health of the equity market in the United States, it’s among the least healthy in my entire career,” Gundlach said. “The market is incredibly speculative, and speculative markets always go to insanely high levels. It happens every time.”
CORN: December corn saw a modest bounce overnight. Support stands at $4.30 then $4.26 1/2 on a push lower, while bulls are looking to topple resistance at $4.32 1/2 then $4.35.
SOYBEANS: January soybeans gapped lower overnight before reversing higher. Bulls are eyeing Friday’s high of $11.52 1/4 on continued strength. Support comes in at $11.25 1/2 then the overnight low of $11.14 1/4 on a turn lower.
WHEAT: December SRW made up some of Friday’s loss overnight. Resistance stands at $5.35 1/4 on persistent strength, while bulls are seeking to hold key support at the 40-day moving average, currently at $5.26.
LIVESTOCK CALLS
CATTLE: Choppy/higher.
HOGS: Choppy/higher.
CATTLE: Cattle futures are expected to open with a mostly firmer tone in a continuation of Friday’s strength. Both the cash cattle and wholesale beef markets continue to undergo persistent weakness, which could continue to undercut futures, but futures bounced off key support on Friday. Cash cattle looks to boast another week-over-week decline while choice cutout slid another $2.84 to $370.73 Friday and select sunk 79 cents to $354.24.
HOGS: Lean hog futures are expected to open with a mostly firmer tone in a continuation of Friday’s strength. December futures saw profit-taking after hitting a for-the-move low on Thursday. Still, futures continue to trend lower on the daily bar chart, led by weakness in the cash markets. The CME lean hog index is down another 89 cents to $87.94 as of Nov. 13. Pork cutout bounced $1.96 to $97.22 Friday, led by strength in butts.