First Thing Today Audio | July 14, 2021
Corn futures saw two-sided action overnight and futures are currently down 1 to 3 cents amid some profit-taking. Soybeans are 4 to 8 cents higher, extending the market’s rebound off the mid-June lows. SRW wheat futures are 5 to 6 cents higher, while HRW and HRS wheat are up 2 to 3 cents. The U.S. dollar index and crude oil futures are under light pressure.
Rains fell in the far eastern Corn Belt over the past 18 hours, areas where moisture has been plentiful, according to maps released by World Weather Inc. An active weather pattern is expected for the Corn Belt today through early next week.
U.S. inflation accelerated in June at the fastest pace in 13 years as the recovery from the pandemic gained steam, according to yesterday’s consumer price index.
President Joe Biden is set to meet with Senate Democrats at the Capitol today to discuss an agreement reached late Tuesday on a $3.5 trillion budget plan that would expand Medicare, fund climate-change initiatives, subsidize childcare and fulfill other parts of Biden's economic agenda. Meanwhile, negotiations on a $579-billion bipartisan bill focused on physical infrastructure, the second part of Biden’s two-track economic package, made some headway after meetings earlier last night.
The U.S. budget deficit narrowed to $2.2 trillion during the first nine months of the fiscal year from the same period a year earlier, with the gap between spending and revenue shrinking as the recovery boosted tax collections. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that the federal budget deficit for this fiscal year will reach about $3 trillion.
A new bipartisan push in Congress to open Cuba for U.S. agriculture stands at least a chance of moving ahead with a trade relationship that has bedeviled American presidents over decades.
The five-area weighted average daily slaughter price for cattle strengthened early this week, a signal packers 1) are in need of supplies and 2) expect to be paying higher prices by week’s end.
Lean hog futures gapped higher to start Tuesday’s session and settled high-range, an encouraging technical signal. Cash hog bids jumped a national average of $4.56 yesterday, and the pork cutout value shot $1.08 higher.
