GRAINS:
Corn and soybean futures led markets lower on Wednesday, pressured by a favorable forecast over the next few weeks and some renewed optimism that negotiators could be making some progress on an Iran peace deal. Bean oil futures fell along with crude oil, which at the time of writing, was down more than $6 per barrel.
July corn closed down 9 1/2 cents at $4.65 3/4, September corn closed down 9 cents at $4.72 1/2. July soybeans closed down 9 3/4 cents at $11.99 3/4 and August soybeans were down 10 1/2 cents at $11.99 1/4. July KC wheat closed down 5 cents at $6.98 3/4, July Chicago wheat was down 6 3/4 cents at $6.60 1/2. July Minneapolis wheat was flat at $6.945.
LIVESTOCK:
With boxed beef prices mixed, no developments in the fed cash cattle market, and the futures up against resistance levels, the live cattle contracts got back to trading lower. Bids and asking prices still remain unknown in the cash market; at this point it's looking like the week's trade could be delayed until the bitter end as everyone awaits to see what Friday's Cattle on Feed report could unveil. But with placements anticipated to be higher than a year ago, there's been a level of hesitancy laced throughout the marketplace.
The feeder cattle contracts were also trading lower for the bulk of the session as the market continued to closely follow the lead of the live cattle contracts. The feeders managed to break away from the bearish sentiment of their counterparts and finished green across the board by the closing bell.
The lean hog complex continued to slide lower as the market is simply displeased with the lack of support. Without stronger consumer demand and with very minimal interest from packers in the cash market, the market simply doesn't have the support it needs to find stability.