After the Bell | March 13, 2024
Corn: May corn fell 1/2 cent to $4.41 1/4, a near mid-range close. Corn futures continued to edge sideways, limited by technical resistance at the 40-day moving average.
Soybeans: May soybeans closed up 3/4 cent at $11.96 3/4, near the session high and hitting a four-week high. May soybean meal fell $2.80 at $336.40 and near mid-range. May bean oil closed up 75 points at 48.57 cents, nearer the session high and closed at a two-month-high close. Selling interest in the soy complex futures waned as the session progressed as the key outside markets were friendly today, including higher crude oil prices, a weaker U.S. dollar index and a “risk-on” day in the general marketplace.
Wheat: May SRW wheat closed 3 1/4 cents lower to $5.44 1/4, a mid-range close. May HRW fell 9 3/4 cents to $5.87 1/, while May HRS ended 8 1/2 cents lower at $6.63 1/2, each closing low-range. SRW wheat rebounded from session lows amid corrective buying efforts, though technical resistance at the 10-day moving average continued to limit a move higher.
Cotton: May cotton closed down 33 points at 94.90 cents and nearer the session low. The cotton futures market saw some chart-based selling pressure today, but losses were limited by bullish outside-market forces that included a lower U.S. dollar index, higher crude oil prices and the U.S. stock indexes that are in a bull market run and hovering just below their recent record highs.
Cattle: Cash strength continues supporting the cattle complex. Nearby April live cattle rose $1.675 to $189.925, while the June contract surged $2.10 to $186.05. Expiring March feeder futures advanced $1.30 to $250.275, while April feeders climbed $1.725 to $255.85. Few factors seem to be working against cattle market bulls at this juncture.
Hogs: April lean hog futures dropped 47.5 cents to $84.875, though it settled nearer session highs. Lean hog futures failed to build on Tuesday’s strength, though they closed well off session lows as futures are hyper focused on price action in cash fundamentals.
