By: NATHAN STUEDLE
GRAIN MARKET SUMMARY
Grain futures finished mixed Wednesday, with corn slipping while soybeans and wheat managed modest gains.
December corn fell 1-and-a-half cents to $5.34-and-a-quarter, pressured by profit-taking and some long liquidation ahead of the Federal Reserve decision. Selling was limited somewhat by persistent rain and flooding concerns in Iowa that could slow harvest activity.
Soybeans gave back most of a strong overnight rally but still closed higher. November beans gained 1-and-three-quarter cents to $13.20-and-a-half. Soybean meal remained the stronger part of the complex, with December meal reaching a two-and-a-half-year contract high. Strength tied to recent crush data and Chinese demand helped support beans, but sharply lower crude oil and pre-Fed positioning trimmed the gains.
Wheat also fought back from weaker trade during the session. December Chicago wheat gained 2-and-a-quarter cents to $7.30-and-three-quarters, while December Kansas City wheat added 3-and-a-quarter cents to $7.99-and-a-half. Buyers returned late in the session, with Black Sea uncertainty and wet harvest conditions in Canada providing some underlying support.
LIVESTOCK MARKET SUMMARY
Cattle futures took another hard hit Wednesday as the recent rally continued to unwind.
Live cattle finished broadly $2 to $3.50 lower, extending Tuesday's losses as traders continued taking money out of a market that had rallied sharply late last week and again on Monday. Despite the futures weakness, tight cattle supplies and recent strength in the cash market remain supportive longer term. Tuesday's trade had already backed away from one-month futures highs even as traders anticipated steady-to-firmer cash cattle business this week.
Feeder cattle took the biggest beating again, with contracts finishing roughly $4 to $6 lower. That's on top of losses of around $3 to $4 Tuesday, making this a very sharp two-day reversal following Monday's big rally.
The bigger picture remains an extremely volatile, choppy cattle market. Futures have been swinging several dollars in either direction while the market tries to establish direction following the recent rebound.
So Wednesday's livestock story is pretty straightforward: another round of heavy liquidation in cattle, with live cattle sharply lower and feeders once again taking the worst of it.