Market Snapshot | April 27, 2022

Corn futures are 4 to 11 cents higher at midmorning, led by old-crop contracts.

• Nearby corn futures climbed near 10-year highs on the continuation chart, while new-crop futures neared contract highs on concerns over slow U.S. planting.
• The next two weeks in the U.S. Corn Belt are expected to be “a little wetter overall” than forecast Tuesday, with southwestern areas receiving three rounds of rain Friday through May 6 and not likely to dry down enough to allow for fieldwork between rains, World Weather Inc. said today. “An important period of drier weather will occur May 7-11, but another round of organized rain may occur May 9-10 and if rain falls to heavily planting delays will be extended deeper into May,” World Weather said.
• Russia launched two missile strikes and damaged a strategic bridge in Ukraine’s Odesa region, which could affect the country’s plans to expand grain exports through Danube ports.
• July corn early reached a contract high at $8.18 1/2, topping the previous contract high by 4 1/2 cents. December futures touched $7.53 1/4, just shy of the $7.55 contract high posted April 19.

Soy complex futures are mixed, with soybeans and soyoil higher and soymeal lower.

• Soybean futures are higher behind surging soyoil, which posted contract highs on concerns Indonesia’s export ban of some palm oil products will further tighten global vegoil supplies.
• Indonesia widened the scope of its export ban on raw materials for cooking oil to include crude and refined palm oil, the country’s chief economic minister said today. A day ago, the minister said the export ban would only cover refined, bleached, and deodorized palm olein.
• July soybeans are trading with yesterday’s range after failing to generate much buying interest from an overnight climb above the 10-day moving average around $16.85 3/4.
• July soyoil posted a contract high at 85.77 cents.

Wheat futures are mostly lower, led by declines of 8 to 10 cents in winter wheat contracts.

• Winter wheat futures eased in part on prospects for temporary moisture relief in parched HRW areas of the U.S. Plains.
• Southwestern U.S. HRW wheat areas are forecast to get rain this weekend and may receive more later next week, World Weather said.
• Spring wheat futures are posting only slight losses, supported by concerns over planting delays in the Northern Plains.
• Algeria purchased between 230,000 and 250,000 MT of durum wheat – likely to be sourced from Mexico. Jordan made no purchases in its tender to buy 120,000 MT of optional origin milling wheat.
• July SRW wheat fell as low as $10.78 1/4 overnight. A push below initial support at the 20-day moving average of $10.67 1/2 would have bears targeting Monday’s low of $10.55 3/4. Initial resistance is seen around a potential double top at last week’s highs in the $11.43 to $11.43 1/2 area.

Live cattle are weaker at midmorning while feeder cattle futures are mostly lower.

• Live cattle futures fell for the third session in the past four on signs of eroding cash prices and concerns high beef prices are curtailing demand.
• May feeder cattle dropped to the lowest level in over a week on strength in corn prices.
• Moderate to active cash cattle trade occurred so far this week at steady to lower prices compared with the $143.02 live steer average last week. Packers may be a slightly more short-bought on near-term needs than previously thought, cash sources said.
• Wholesale beef prices extended a recent slide, with Choice cutout values falling $2.43 Tuesday to a four-week low at $264.17, though movement surged to 183 loads.
• Bears hold a technical advantage in June live cattle following the early-week selloff. A close below Monday’s low at $134.45 would put the April low of $132.475 in bears’ sights. Stiff resistance is seen between a wide chart gap from $136.85 to $138.35.

Hog futures are narrowly mixed, with spring and summer contracts weaker and deferreds firmer.

• Lean hog futures initially gained in a modest corrective bounce after slumping technicals and demand concerns sent the June contract to a seven-week low. But buyer interest proved to be limited and the market is now mostly lower.
• Wholesale pork prices continue to weaken, with cutout values dropping 24 cents Tuesday to $105.55, a three-week low. However, movement jumped to nearly 341 loads, suggesting weaker prices sparked stepped-up retail purchases.
• The CME lean hog index is up 39 cents today (as of April 25) to a four-week high at $102.89, extending the recent string of price strength. May hog are trading around $1.50 above today’s cash index quote, while the premium in June hogs narrowed to around $7.75.
• China will buy another 40,000 MT of frozen pork for state reserves on Friday to support domestic prices for hog producers saddled with poor margins. This will be the sixth round of pork buys for state reserves.
• June lean hogs fell as low as $110.45, the lowest intraday price since the March low at $109.15. A close under the March low would have bears targeting further downside targets, including the February low at $104.70.