Market Snapshot | April 12, 2024

Corn futures are mostly 2 to 4 cents higher at midmorning.

Corn futures are higher amid corrective buying, with sharp gains in crude oil lending support.
Planting progress may be slow in the eastern U.S. and Delta over the balance of the month due to recent rain and bouts of additional moisture along with some cooler temps, according to World Weather.
World Weather Inc. reports today’s weather still includes increasing rainfall over the next few days through most of next week for safrinha corn areas of Brazil and a good mix of rain and sunshine is expected in Argentina.
Ukrainian farmers have started this year’s corn sowing, seeding the first 120,000 hectares as of April 11, agriculture ministry data showed.
May corn futures are trading back above the 40-, 10- and 20-day moving averages, though Thursday’s high of $4.37 1/2 remains resistance. Initial support lies at the previous session’s low of $4.27 1/2.

Soybean futures are mostly 6 to 9 cents higher, while soymeal is $2.00 to $4.00 higher. May soyoil modestly lower.

Nearby soybeans are trading higher for the first session in five as soymeal gains lend support.
USDA reported daily soybean sales of 124,000 MT to delivery to unknown destinations for 2023-24.
China imported 5.54 MMT of soybeans last month, according to preliminary customs data, down 20% from last year and the lowest for the month in four years. During the first quarter of 2024, China imported 20.83 MMT of soybeans, down 10.8% from the same period last year and also a four-year low.
China’s exports dropped 7.5% from year-ago to $279.68 billion in March, the biggest decline since last August. Imports fell 1.9% to $221.15 billion, the first decline since November.
May soybeans are facing resistance at the 40- and 10-day moving averages of $11.75 1/2 and $11.76 1/2, while initial support remains at $11.51 1/2.

SRW wheat futures are mostly 3 to 5 cents higher, while HRW and HRS wheat are both 1 to 2 cents higher.

Wheat futures are notably higher amid broad strength across commodities, despite strong gains in the U.S. dollar index.
As of April 8, France’s ag ministry rated the country’s wheat crop as 64% good or excellent, down one point from the previous week and the lowest for this time of year since 2020.
Crop weather in Russia’s southern region and portions of eastern Ukraine will be drying down for a while longer. Precip is expected to be restricted in the U.S. west-central Plains, too.
May SRW wheat has moved back above the 40- and 10-day moving averages of $5.55 3/4 and $5.57 3/4, with resistance now at $5.64 3/4. Initial support lies at $5.46 3/4.

Live cattle and feeders are sharply lower at midsession.

Nearby live cattle have erased Thursday’s gains on pressure from technical-based selling.
Cash cattle has been light so far this week, with most of the sales taking place around $2.00 lower than last week. Given the sharp increase in weights and reduced slaughter runs, packer demand for cash cattle is limited.
Choice boxed beef prices gained 14 cents to $298.37 Thursday, while Select slipped 87 cents to $295.15. Movement totaled 124 loads for the day.
June live cattle are trading near lows for the week, with support at $171.40. Resistance is at the 10-day moving average near $174.22.

Lean hog futures are posting sharp losses at midsession.

April hogs are lower ahead of today’s noon CT contract expiration. Deferred contracts are facing heavy pressure given their big premiums to the cash index.
The CME lean hog index is up another $1.06 to $89.84 as of April 10.
The pork cutout value firmed $1.04 to $101.29 Thursday. Both the cash index and pork cutout value marked new highs in the seasonal price climb that’s showing no signs of slowing.
China imported 578,000 MT of meat during March, down 11.5% from last year. The first quarter of this year, China imported 1.68 MMT of meat, down 270,000 MT (13.8%) from the same period a year ago. China doesn’t break down meat imports by category in preliminary data, but the decline is due to reduced pork arrivals.
June lean hogs gapped below the 10-day moving average of $105.75 and have violated multiple levels of near-term support.

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