GRAIN CALLS
Corn: Steady to 2 cents lower.
Soybeans: 2 to 4 cents lower.
Wheat: Steady to 2 cents lower.
GENERAL COMMENTS: Corn, soybeans and wheat each pushed to fresh for-the-move highs overnight before turning lower on profit-taking. Wheat spiked to a high on big volume, leaving some concern of an exhaustion move, so today’s close will be important. Front-month crude oil futures are trading higher this morning and are back above $80. The U.S. dollar index is up around 20 points after solid losses the past couple days.
The U.S. struck Iran for a fifth consecutive day overnight and hit a sanctioned oil tanker near the country’s main export terminal, as tensions between the warring sides show little sign of abating, said a Bloomberg report. “Iran responded to the U.S.’s barrage on military targets such as command centers and missile sites by firing upon American bases in Kuwait and Jordan. The Jordanian government said it intercepted eight missiles. Tehran seems in no mood to back down in the face of President Trump’s warning that he’ll escalate strikes until the Islamic Republic reopens the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway that’s now the focal point of the war,” said the report. “As long as the United States does not accept the Iranian legal system, this strait will remain closed,” a spokesman for Iran’s army said, according to a report from the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency.
The National Weather Service today said an upper high-pressure system is prolonging a heatwave across the northern states. The Northern Plains and Great Lakes will see daily maximums temperatures holding steady in the 90s to lower 100s for the next few days. Farther south, an upper-level low has migrated westward into the southern High Plains to support a renewed round of heavy thunderstorms across the Texas hill country. In the western U.S., severe thunderstorms are possible later today across western Montana. Monsoonal thunderstorms are forecast to track from north to south across the Four Corners region today. Scattered thunderstorms will be lifting farther north into the mid-Mississippi and Ohio valleys later today.
Export sales for the week ended July 9:
Corn: Net sales of 315,000 MT for 2025-26 – a marketing year low, down 44% from the previous week and 61% from the four-week average. Japan and Colombia led sales. Sales were below expectations ranging from 500,000 MT to 1.1 MMT.
Soybeans: Net sales of 188,300 MT for 2025-26, up noticeably from the previous week but down 23% from the four-week average. China led sales. Sales were in the upper end of expectations ranging from 100,000 to 500,000 MT.
Wheat: Net sales of 235,100 MT for 2026-27, down 25% from the previous week and 38% from the four-week average. Mexico and Japan led sales. Sales were below expectations ranging from 250,000 to 600,000 MT.
CORN: December corn futures gave up early overnight gains. Support stands at $4.66 on persistent selling. Bulls are eyeing resistance at $4.70 then $4.74 1/4 on a reversal higher.
SOYBEANS: November soybean futures saw profit-taking overnight. Bulls are looking to hold support at $11.91 then $11.86 3/4 on a turn lower. Resistance stands at the overnight high of $12.06 3/4 on a push higher.
WHEAT: September wheat futures spiked higher overnight but have since fallen near unchanged. Bulls are eyeing resistance at the overnight high of $6.98 1/4 on resurgent strength. Support comes in at $6.75 then $6.70 3/4 on profit-taking.
LIVESTOCK CALLS
CATTLE: Choppy/higher.
HOGS: Choppy/lower.
CATTLE: Live cattle and feeder futures are expected to open with a mostly firmer tone on corrective strength. A continuation of recent selling pressure can’t be ruled out as prices have closed lower 13 sessions in a row in fats. That streak is the longest since 2019. Futures are oversold on the daily bar chart. Cash cattle trade has picked up at sharply lower prices, further bolstering bears hold on the market. Choice beef slid another $2.67 to $371.28 Wednesday.
HOGS: Lean hog futures are expected to open with a mostly weaker tone as prices are trading in the upper end of the recent range. August lean hogs are in a tight uptrend on the daily bear chart, with dips being bought and rallies being sold. Technically, prices are likely to continue to work higher, but some profit-taking is possible today. The CME lean hog index is up another 73 cents to $94.60 as of July 14, extending the recent uptrend. Pork cutout rose 25 cents to $101.46 Wednesday, led by gains in bellies.