After the Bell | February 10, 2023
Corn: Corn closed 9 3/4 cents higher to $6.80 1/2, ending the session above 10-, 20- and 100-day moving averages and is up 3 cents on the week. Corn futures surged as crude oil futures rose back toward $80.00 as Russia announced plans to reduce oil production next month after the West imposed price caps on the country’s oil and oil products.
Soybeans: March soybean futures rose 23 1/4 cents to $15.42 1/2, near the daily high and posted an eight-month high close. For the week, March beans gained 10 1/2 cents. March soybean meal futures closed up $3.90 to $499.40, near the session high and hit a contract high. On the week, March meal rose $2.90. March soybean oil rose 150 points to 60.54 cents and on the week rose 148 points. Soybean and meal futures finished off the trading week in strong fashion, including technically bullish weekly high closes in nearby futures.
Wheat: March SRW surged 28 3/4 cents to $7.86, marking the highest close since Dec. 30 and is up 29 1/4 cents on the week. Hard red wheat ended the session up 30 cents at $9.09, while March spring wheat rose 13 3/4 to $9.31. Wheat futures climbed higher as trader focus returns to global supply following Russian criticism of Black Sea grain deal.
Cotton: March cotton futures closed down 23 points to 85.27 cents and nearer the session high. For the week, March cotton fell 16 points. Since mid-November the cotton futures market has chopped in a sideways trading range.
Cattle: Nearby February live cattle futures gained 37.5 cents to $161.20 Friday, while most-active April advanced 32.5 cents to $163.95. That marked a 17.5-cent weekly decline. In contrast, March feeder futures slid 42.5 cents to $186.40, with the closing quote representing a weekly rise of 30 cents. As expected, feedlot managers forced beef packers to pay up for fed cattle this week, although the approximate $1.00 gain that looks to be the likely result probably fell short of bullish expectations.
Hogs: Expiring February hog futures inched up 5 cents to $75.875 to end the week, whereas most-active April ended the day unchanged at $83.325. That represented a weekly drop of $3.15. The modest upward trend in cash hog prices continued this week, with Wednesday’s official quote of $73.80, up 5 cents on the day, being followed by a preliminary Thursday figure at $74.00, up 20 cents.
