By: NATHAN STUEDLE
St. Joseph Post
GRAINS:
July corn closed down 3 1/2 cents and December corn was down 2 1/2 cents. July soybeans closed down 7 1/4 cents and November soybeans were down 4 3/4 cents. July KC wheat closed down 1 1/4 cents, July Chicago wheat was down 2 cents, July MIAX Minneapolis wheat was up 6 1/4 cents.
For the week:
July corn closed up 16 cents and December corn was up 15 1/4 cents. July soybeans closed up 10 1/4 cents and November soybeans were up 15 cents. July KC wheat closed up 22 1/4 cents, July Chicago wheat was up 17 1/2 cents and July MIAX Minneapolis wheat was up 33 1/4 cents.
Row-crop prices were softer overall Friday as the strong price rallies across corn, soybeans, and wheat ran out of steam heading into the long weekend, although Friday's session also featured a drop in volume behind the trade. Traders will want to watch for Friday afternoon's Commitments of Traders data, which will offer insight into short-covering over the last week and a half rally in prices. In outside markets, stocks were again on edge Friday following President Trump making new tariff threats against the European Union as well as Apple, Inc. President Trump noted in social media posts that negotiations thus far with the E.U. were "going nowhere" and followed up by floating the idea of a 50% tariff beginning June 1. The U.S. dollar sank on the news, dropping for the fourth time out of five sessions this week. Crude oil markets were lower to begin Friday on the refreshed trade concerns but have since recovered in choppy trade which has been the feature of the oil market over the past week.
LIVESTOCK:
The live cattle complex traded indecisively, higher one minute, lower the next as traders are juggling the mixed signals from the marketplace. Traders are keenly aware of the hesitancy this morning of the equity markets, amid furthered concerns about tariffs, and also adding some perplexities to the market is the fact that still no Southern live cattle have traded. There was some trade in the North on Wednesday afternoon at $354 to $370, but mostly at $360 which is $2.00 higher than last week's record-breaking weighted average. But since then, there's been virtually no trade to speak of. That being said, more trade will need to develop at some point today if traders are going to keep themselves from being short bought in the weeks ahead.
The feeder cattle complex traded higher as traders are anxiously awaiting to see what this afternoon's Cattle on Feed report unveils. It's fully anticipated that the report will be bullish as feed totals and placements are both expected to be lighter than a year ago.
The lean hog complex traded fully lower as not only is the market battling its own resistance pressure, but it's also concerned about continued tariff dilemmas. And while it is always helpful for the market to see pork cutout values higher, traders seemed dull to the fundamental support.
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