By: NATHAN STUEDLE
GRAINS:
December corn closed down 1 3/4 cents and March corn was down 1 cent. November soybeans closed down 6 cents and January soybeans were down 6 cents. December KC wheat closed down 1 cent, December Chicago wheat was down 1/4 cents, December Minneapolis wheat was down 4 1/4 cents.
For the week:
December corn closed down 2 1/4 cents and March corn was down 1 1/4 cents. November soybeans closed down 27 1/2 cents and January soybeans were down 27 cents. December KC wheat closed down 11 cents, December Chicago wheat was down 17 cents and December Minneapolis wheat was down 14 cents.
Agricultural markets were mostly calm Friday, and for the most part followed weekly trends into the close, featuring reversals off early session gains. Corn futures looked to be heading for a third positive session out of four tries this week before bears regained control by the last hour of trade. Meanwhile, soybean prices fell again following Thursday's impressive afternoon rally. Wheat markets remained limited in terms of upward momentum but were also able to stabilize following Thursday's ugly morning trade which sent prices to new lows. Outside markets to close the week were mostly a negative influence on agriculture, with another round of sluggish jobs data Friday morning sending equities lower and also weighing on energy markets. Also weighing on energies was Thursday's EIA inventory report which showed U.S. crude oil stocks higher week-over-week and year-over-year, as well as the OPEC+ meeting over the weekend. Treasury yields inched higher to close the week with the apparent slowing of the labor market, increasing the likelihood of a rate cut from the Federal Reserve in their meeting later this month.
LIVESTOCK:
The live cattle complex continued to etch lower and lower as the market isn't seeing the fundamental support it needs to convince traders that the market's direction should change. Following the trade that developed in the cash market on Thursday, no new cash cattle trade has surfaced thus far, and it's looking like the bulk of this week's business could be done with. So far this week Southern live cattle have traded anywhere from $242 to $243, which is steady to $1.00 higher than last week's weighted average, and Northern dressed cattle have traded at mostly $383, which is $2.00 lower than last week's weighted average.
And again today, the feeder cattle complex was following in the same direction as that of the live cattle market, as even though demand in the countryside remains historic, traders are waving their white flag for the time being and are fixated on working the contracts lower. As time moves closer and closer to the end of September/early October, it will be interesting to see the sheer volume of calves traded at sale barns as more cattle were moved earlier this year.
The momentum that's run with the lean hog complex for the vast majority of the week continued to sustain through Friday's session as the contracts kept trading higher. It is helpful that today, pork cutout values were higher, which is mainly because of the $5.07 increase in the picnic and the $4.13 jump in the loin.