After the Bell | January 26, 2024
Corn: March corn futures lost 5 1/2 cents before settling at $4.46 1/4 but marked a 3/4 cent gain on the week. Corn futures plunged, led lower by sinking soybean futures.
Soybeans: March soybeans fell 13 3/4 cents to $12.09 1/4 and gave up 4 cents on the week. March soymeal plunged $9.20 to $349.00 and lost $7.50 week-over-week. March soyoil rose 40 points to 46.93 cents and gained a paltry 3 points on the week. Soybeans extended Thursday’s weakness amid improved sentiments toward South American supply prospects.
Wheat: March SRW wheat futures fell 12 cents to $6.00 1/4 and nearer the session low. For the week, March SRW rose 7 cents. March HRW wheat dropped 12 1/4 cents to $6.24 3/4 after hitting a new high for the month early on. For the week, March HRW gained 16 3/4 cents. March spring wheat futures fell 5 1/2 cents to $7.03 1/2 but picked up 8 cents on the week. The winter wheat futures markets today saw corrective price pullbacks from this week’s gains.
Cotton: March cotton plunged 139 points to 84.37 cents but picked up 42 points on the week. Cotton futures ended the week handing back a decent portion of the week’s gains on obvious profit-taking efforts into the weekend, despite a weaker U.S. dollar and crude oil strength.
Cattle: April live cattle futures rose 97 1/2 cents to $181.675, nearer the session high and hit a 2.5-month high. For the week April cattle gained $4.30. March feeder cattle futures gained $1.525 to $239.70, near mid-range and hit a 2.5-month high. For the week, March feeders rose $7.75. This week’s strong gains that included technically bullish weekly high closes in April live cattle and March feeders set the table for follow-through chart-based buying early next week.
Hogs: Hog futures continued their rally into the weekend, although nearby futures backed away from daily highs. Expiring February futures rose 62.5 cents to end the week at $74.925, which represented a weekly rise of $4.175. Most-active April futures climbed 70 cents to $83.25, marking a weekly gain of $5.10. Current circumstances strongly favored the upside for the hog market this week, especially with the equity markets, crude oil and cattle leading the way higher.
