After the Bell | April 14, 2023

Corn: May corn futures closed 14 cents higher at $6.66 1/4, 22 3/4 cents higher on the week. Corn futures surged today to a new high on the week.

Soybeans: May soybeans fell 1/2 cent to $15.00 1/2, but gained 7 3/4 cents on the week, while May soymeal turned $3.90 lower to $459.70. May soyoil closed 6 points lower at 53.66 cents. Soybeans extended Thursday’s selling efforts but were able to gain late-session spillover support from grains, rebounding from earlier lows.

Wheat: May SRW wheat futures rose 15 1/2 cents to $6.82 1/2, near the session high, gaining 7 cents on the week. May HRW wheat futures surged 33 1/2 cents to $8.78 3/4, and for the week rose 14 1/4 cents. Spring wheat futures rose 26 3/4 cents to $8.76 1/4. The technically bullish weekly high closes in wheat futures markets today set the table for follow-through technical buying early next week.  

Cotton: May cotton fell 49 points to 82.86 cents, ending the week below the 100-day moving average and losing 34 points on the week. Cotton ended the week on a largely neutral note, spending the session within Thursday’s range, as the U.S. dollar made a notable rebound from earlier lows and crude oil strength was mild at best.

Cattle: Expiring April live cattle futures sagged 75 cents to end the week at $174.75, while most-active June futures dropped 77.5 cents to $163.725 at Friday’s close. That marked a weekly rise of 62.5 cents. The nearby April feeder contract rallied 72.5 cents to $203.40, whereas most-active May futures gained just 10 cents to $207.90, which represented a weekly gain of $2.50. Futures traders still doubt recent fed cattle strength can be sustained, as was made evident by the discounts built into the nearby fed cattle contracts versus this week’s cash gains.

Hogs: June lean hog futures rose $1.225 to $86.875 but for the week lost $1.30. Short covering was featured in lean hog futures today after the June contract hit fresh lows Thursday.