By: NATHAN STUEDLE
GRAINS:
December corn closed down 2 3/4 cents and March corn was down 2 cents. January soybeans closed down 12 3/4 cents and March soybeans were down 12 1/2 cents. December KC wheat closed up 4 3/4 cents, December Chicago wheat was up 6 3/4 cents, December Minneapolis wheat was down 1 1/4 cents.
It was an all-around risk-off session for row crops Tuesday with the exception of wheat futures, which continued to ride Monday's wave of trade optimism. Soybean futures led the way lower in the first significant corrective price action in what has been an almost vertical move higher between soybeans and soybean meal since the middle of October. It is likely traders and possibly producers looked to reward the rally following Monday's surge higher. Traders may also be feeling some nervousness ahead of the next USDA update in the middle of the month, which may still find large U.S. crops with harvest coming to an end. Outside markets were also mostly negative influence on ag markets Tuesday, with the U.S. Dollar Index firmer for a fifth straight session and directly below 3-month highs. Energy markets were mixed but stalled against topside resistance, while equities were lower, continuing the recent pullback from last week's record levels.
LIVESTOCK:
The live cattle complex was back to trading lower, despite Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins saying the U.S. is not ready for the border to reopen just yet; she's also mentioned in other interviews that President Trump is "very focused" on reopening the border. Although the industry knew that at some point the border was going to be reopened, the cat and mouse game of trying to pinpoint when that is going to happen has a negative impact on the market, as one can see in today's trade action. Unfortunately, this headline has once again pulled the spot December live cattle contract back below the market's 100-day moving average. Still no developments have surfaced in the fed cash cattle market, and no bids or asking prices have surfaced quite yet.
The feeder cattle complex took the morning's rumors with the biggest hit as the market has successfully seen prices never reached before, largely because of limited supplies and excellent demand. Cattle producers and traders alike both know that allowing for Mexican cattle imports won't completely end the market's rally and historical prices, but the degree to which it will affect prices is unknown, and that's what scares the market.
The lean hog complex was again sinking lower, as traders are sickened to see demand simply not performing. If the market trades much lower, it commits to trading below the support place at $80.00 in the December contract. The next level of technical support can be found at around $70.00.