After the Bell | March 21, 2023
Corn: May corn futures fell 3 cents to $6.30 and near the session low. The corn futures market was pressed today in part by solid losses in soybean and wheat futures.
Soybeans: May soybeans fell 19 cents to $14.67, near the session low after trading as high as $14.97. May meal closed $2.10 lower to $460.60, while May soyoil dropped 175 points to 56.24 cents. Soybeans failed overnight and early-session attempts to breach $15.00, with soyoil weakness and waning strength in meal futures pressuring the complex.
Wheat: May SRW futures sold 17 1/2 cents to close at $6.83 1/4, near the session low. May HRW futures closed 9 1/2 cents lower at $8.20 1/4. Spring wheat settled 5 3/4 cents lower at $8.45 3/4. Wheat bears continued in today’s session ahead of tomorrow’s important FOMC interest rate decision.
Cotton: May cotton rose 63 points to 77.85 cents, a low-range close after marking an intraday high 79.16 cents. Cotton futures have stabilized momentarily after reaching a 20-week low in the previous session, finding support, albeit mild, from a second straight day of crude oil gains and a waning U.S. dollar.
Cattle: April live cattle futures rose 40 cents to $162.425 Tuesday, while most-active April feeder futures edged up 7.5 cents to $194.70. Traders remain quite skeptical of sustained strength in the cash cattle market, as indicated by the discount to last week’s cash price.
Hogs: April lean hogs fell 72 1/2 cents to $77.05, near the session low and hit another contract low. Deteriorating cash market fundamentals and solidly bearish technicals are feeding the lean hog futures bears a healthy diet at present.
