After the Bell | March 23, 2022
Corn: May corn futures rose 4 3/4 cents to $7.57 3/4. December corn gained 2 1/4 cents to $6.72 1/4 and posted a contract high for the third day in a row, touching $6.80 1/2. Prices climbed amid strong demand and global supply concerns surrounding the Russia/Ukraine war. U.S. ethanol production during the week ended March 18 averaged 1.042 million barrels per day (bpd), up 13% from the same week in 2021, according to the Energy Information Administration. Tomorrow weekly USDA Export Sales Report is expected to show U.S. corn sales of 800,000 to 1.8 million MT in the 2021-22 marketing year and 100,00 to 400,000 MT in the 2022-23 marketing year.
Soybeans: May soybeans rose 22 1/4 cents to $17.18 3/4, the highest settlement for a nearby contract since September 2012. May soyoil jumped 143 points to 75.97 cents per pound, while May soymeal climbed $8.30 to $485.10. The soy complex drew support from strength in crude oil and global vegetable oil markets, in part reflecting the cut-off of Ukrainian sunflower oil supplies. Net weekly U.S. soybean sales are expected between 500,000 MT to 1.3 MMT for 2021-22 and 300,000 to 800,000 MT for 2022-23.
Wheat: May SRW wheat fell 12 1/2 cents to $11.05 3/4. May HRW fell 5 cents to $11.11 1/2. May spring wheat fell 6 1/2 cents to $10.89 1/4. Nearby HRW and SRW futures erased overnight gains on profit-taking as the market continued to monitor the Russia/Ukraine war. War disruptions continued to support prices, but absent the conflict taking a severe turn for the worse, HRW and SRW futures likely established major tops earlier this month. In the U.S., rain and snow earlier this week brough relief to parched HRW ground in the central and southern Plains, and more precipitation is expected into early April.
Cotton: May cotton futures fell 1 point to 130.03 cents per pound, after rising earlier to 132.96 cents, a contract high and the highest intraday price for a nearby contract since mid-2011. Cotton futures rallied initially behind expectations for strong demand and concern drought could curb production in key growing regions. Much of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas remain in drought as the spring growing season approaches, with little relief in sight. Surging crude oil prices also supported cotton futures, with nearby Nymex contracts rising over $5 and briefly topping $115 a barrel.
Cattle: June live cattle rose 27.5 cents to $135.975. May feeder cattle rose 37.5 cents to $165.80. Live cattle sank early to two-week lows before rebounding, though prices may take pressure tomorrow from slippage in the cash market. Cash trade started today around $138.00 in most locations and dipped to $137.00 in Kansas, down from last week’s average of $139.10. Choice cutout values rose $1.63 today to $261.60, a four-week high. Movement totaled 113 loads.
USDA’s monthly Cattle on Feed Report Friday is expected to show record March 1 inventories, up around 6% from year-ago levels. USDA’s Cold Storage Report late today showed beef stocks rose contra-seasonally during February, hitting a record 532.5 million lbs. for the end of the month.
Hogs: April lean hogs rose $2.30 to $102.55, while June jumped $2.90 to $122.975 after posting a contract high at $124.45. Hog futures surged in anticipation of spring-summer market strength. Pork carcass cutout values retreated from a morning upswing and ended the day at $106.39, down 32 cents but still near a two-week high. Movement totaled 299 loads. USDA’s Cold Storage Report showed pork stocks climbed a larger-than-normal 45.9 million lbs. during February, ending the month at 480.4 million lbs., up 0.6% from a year earlier.
