Market Snapshot | June 13, 2022

Corn futures are 4 to 8 cents lower at midmorning after erasing overnight gains.

• Corn futures erased overnight gains amid heavy spillover pressure from weakness in the soy complex, along with crude oil and the U.S. stock market.
• Ukraine has established two routes to export grain through Poland and Romania, although bottlenecks have slowed the crucial food supply chain, Kyiv's deputy foreign minister said.
• Farmers started harvesting winter grains in the southwestern Odesa region of Ukraine, according to regional officials. Farmers in the region are expected to harvest 1.06 million hectares of winter grains, including 551,000 hectares of winter wheat.
• USDA reported 1.200 MMT (47.2 million bu.) of corn inspected for export during the week ended June 9, down from 1.459MMT the previous week. Expectations ranged from 1.0 MMT to 1.75 MMT.
• USDA’s weekly crop progress report later today should show the corn crop near 100% planted and a continuation of the strong crop conditions last week. A week ago, USDA reported the U.S. corn crop was 94% planted as of June 5, up from 86% a week earlier. USDA also rated the crop 73% “good” or “excellent,” up from 72% in those categories a year ago and about 5 percentage points above expectations.
• July corn futures faded after overnight reaching $7.82 1/4, just 1/2 cent under last week’s high, before falling as low as $7.58 1/2. The lead contract surged 46 1/4 cents last week for the contract’s first weekly gain in six.

Soy complex futures are broadly lower, with soybeans down 38 to 48 cents and led by new-crop futures.

• Soybeans futures joined a broad selloff, with new-crop contracts under pressure from expectations for favorable growing conditions.
• USDA reported 605,129 MT (22.2 million bu.) of soybeans inspected for export during the week ended June 9, up from 365,455 MT the previous week. Expectations ranged from 275,000 to 675,000 MT.
• Malaysian palm oil futures extended a slump as Indonesia, the world’s biggest exporter of palm oil, has yet again loosened its export policy, looking to accelerate shipments just weeks after ending a three-week export ban aimed at maintaining domestic supply.
• July soybeans fell as low as $17.02 after gaining nearly 48 cents last week, the contract’s fourth weekly gain in the past five. November soybeans fell as low as $15.16 1/4.

Wheat futures are 5 to 7 cents lower.

• Wheat futures are under pressure after giving up overnight gains amid spillover pressure from the soy complex and outside markets.
• Spain and France are seeing their hottest temperatures in decades for this time of year, while Italian wheat production is expected to fall by 15% due to drought.
• Egypt has procured 3.9 MMT of domestic wheat during the current harvest season so far, surpassing last year’s full-season total by 300,000 MT, the state-run General Company for Silos and Storage's chairman said.
• USDA reported 388,847 MT (14.3 million bu.) of wheat inspected for export during the week ended June 9, up from 355,340 MT the previous week. Expectations ranged from 275,000 to 500,000 MT.
• July SRW wheat overnight rose as high as $10.93 1/2 before sinking during daytime trade to a low of $10.53 1/2. The lead contract gained 30 3/4 cents last week.

Live cattle and feeder cattle are sharply lower at midmorning.

• Live cattle futures gapped lower at today’s open and fell sharply under broad-based liquidation pressure across ag commodities, fueled in part by a selloff in U.S. stocks.
• Weakness also reflects ides cash prices won’t extend last week’s strength and that a potential recession will hurt beef demand.
• USDA-reported live steers averaged $140.52 last week through Friday morning, up almost $2.50 from the previous week’s average. Seasonals suggest the cash advance will be short-lived, and front-month live cattle trading below the cash market suggests traders will take a cautious approach. 
• Choice beef cutout values ended the week at $271.31, up from $267.26 at the end of last week.
• August live cattle left a gap in the daily bar chart between Friday’s low of $136.025 and today’s high of $135.475.

Hog futures are mostly lower, led by fall and winter contracts.

• Lean hog futures extended last week’s losses amid beliefs a recent cash climb has ended.
• The CME lean hog index is down 12 cents to $107.19 (as of June 9), the third straight daily decline. Based on the discounts in July and August hogs, traders sense the cash market has topped seasonally.
• Pork cutout values ended last week at $109.16, down from $112.02 a week earlier.
• July lean hog futures fell as low as $103.525, the contract’s lowest price since May 16.