Market Snapshot | April 18, 2022

Corn futures are sharply higher at midmorning, led by gains of around 20 cents in old-crop contracts.

• Nearby corn futures rallied above $8.00 to the highest levels in nearly 10 years, lifted by surging wheat and concerns over disruptions from the war in Ukraine. A sluggish U.S. seeding pace supported new-crop futures.
• USDA will update weekly planting progress figures after the close today. The crop was 2% seeded as of April 10, behind the five-year average of 3%.
• USDA reported 1.139 MMT (44.8 million bu.) of corn inspected for export during the week ended April 14, down from 1.474 MMT the previous week. Expectations ranged from 1.05 to 1.8 MMT.
• Around 1.25 MMT of grains and oilseeds are still on commercial vessels blocked in Ukrainian seaports due to Russia’s invasion and part of the cargo may deteriorate in the near future, Ukraine’s farm minister said last Friday, according to Reuters.
• China imported 2.41 MMT of corn in March, up 25% from last year, while wheat imports surged 95.1% to 870,000 MT. Through the first quarter of 2022, China’s corn imports were up 5.5% from the same period last year.
• May corn hit $8.10 1/2, the highest intraday price for a nearby contract since September 2012, while July corn posted a contract high at $8.04 1/2. December corn hit $7.49 3/4, a contract high for the sixth day in a row.

Soy complex futures are broadly higher, with nearby soybeans up more than 20 cents, nearby soymeal up more than $2 and nearby soyoil more than 100 points higher.

• Nearby soybeans rose to the highest levels in over three weeks on support from rallies in grains, crude oil and Malaysian palm oil.
• The U.S. soybean crush rose in March to the highest level on record for the third month of the year, while stocks of soybean oil fell to the lowest since November, according to National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) data released last Friday. NOPA members crushed 181.759 million bushels of soybeans last month, up 10% from February and up 2.1% from March 2021. The crush was expected to rise to 181.991 million bushels.
• USDA reported 972,509 MT (35.7 million bu.) of soybeans inspected for export during the week ended April 14, up from 818,689 MT the previous week. Expectations ranged from 500,000 MT to 1.15 MMT.
• On Friday, USDA announced daily soybean sales to China of 121,000 MT for 2021-22 and 540,000 MT for 2022-23, along with 177,000 MT to “unknown destinations” for 2021-22.
• July soybeans reached $16.96 1/4, the contract’s highest intraday price since $17.08 on March 24. Initial resistance is pegged around $17.00, with further resistance at the March high of $17.13.

Wheat futures are sharply higher, led by gains of over 35-plus cents in spring wheat.

• Nearby winter and spring wheat futures hit the highest prices in over six weeks as continued fighting in Ukraine fueled concerns over global supplies.
• USDA reported 432,253 MT (15.9 million bu.) of wheat inspected for export during the week ended April 14, up from 419,185 MT the previous week. Expectations ranged from 300,000 to 500,000 MT.
• China sold 531,469 MT, or 96.4%, of wheat reserves put up for auction at an average price of 2,841 yuan ($446) per metric ton. The sales price was up from 2,709 yuan ($425) per metric ton the previous week.
• Large speculators increased their bullish bets in the HRW wheat market to the highest level since early January, data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed.
• July SRW wheat futures pushed above the trading range of the past six weeks and climbed to $11.43, the most-active contract’s highest intraday price since $11.94 on March 9.

Cattle futures are mixed at midmorning, with live cattle higher and feeders lower.

• Live cattle futures rose to the highest levels in over two weeks on expectations last week’s stronger-than-expected cash trade will continue.
• Corn futures’ strong rally pressured feeder cattle futures.
• USDA-reported live steers averaged $141.02 through Friday morning, up from the previous week’s $138.82 average, though the cash market hasn’t posted two consecutive weeks of gains since late February.
• Choice cutout values ended last week at $272.62, up $2.15 from the end of the previous week.
• June live cattle reached $137.475, the highest intraday price since April 1.

Hog futures are sharply higher, led by nearby contracts.

• Lean hog futures extended last week’s gains as cash fundamentals continued to strengthen.
• The CME lean hog index rose 79 cents today to $99.98, its third daily gain in a row. June futures ended last week nearly $19 above the index.
• Pork cutout values ended last week at $110.21, up $7.05 from a week earlier and a three-week high. June lean hogs ended last week at $118.475, up $3.90 for the week.
• China imported 140,000 MT of pork last month, down 70% from the previous year. Through the first three months of this year, Chinese pork imports totaled 420,000 MT, down 64% from the same period last year.