By NATHAN STUEDLE
St. Joseph Post
GRAINS:
May corn closed up 5 cents and December corn was up 5 cents. May soybeans closed up 20 cents and November soybeans were up 19 1/4 cents. May KC wheat closed up 6 1/2 cents, May Chicago wheat was up 2 1/4 cents, May Minneapolis wheat was up 7 3/4 cents.
What began as a similar day to the past four sessions took a dramatic shift in the early afternoon Wednesday after the Trump administration announced a 90-day pause on some tariffs, with the exception of China, which will now face a 125% duty as a result of their increased retaliatory action against the United States in recent days. The fine details of Trump's statement on Truth Social are still somewhat ambiguous; but for now the policy shift appears to be a reduction of all increased reciprocal tariffs back to the 10% baseline level over the next 90-days, with China left out of the alleviation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average skyrocketed to up over 2,600 points immediately upon the news being reported. Meanwhile, grain markets which had been struggling against chart resistance surged as well, led by soybean futures which quickly moved double-digits higher despite the trading relationship with China remaining sour. Crude oil futures rose to over $5 per barrel higher than the intraday low, and with that reversal lent strength to soybean oil futures as well, which snapped a four-day losing streak.
LIVESTOCK:
The live cattle complex traded lower for the bulk of the session as pressure again reared its nasty head. More than anything, the psychological pressure of not knowing what's to come seemed to be plaguing the market as traders sat uneasily. After the tariff anouncement from the Trump administration, that there would be a "pause", there was a flurry of activity and all contracts ended sharply higher. A few bids have surfaced leading up to Wednesday's noon hour as live bids are currently being offered in Nebraska at $205 to $208, and in Texas at $200. Asking prices are firm in the South at $208, but it will be interesting to see who gives this week and where the trade's weighted average lands this week. But it's still assumed that the week's trade will be delayed until Thursday or Friday.
The feeder cattle complex tried to hold its nearby contracts higher while the rest of the market follows the direction of the live cattle complex early on in the session. Helping keep the nearby feeder cattle contracts higher is also the fact that turnout season is nearing, and order buyers want to fill their orders before supplies run out. The same flurry of activity hit just before close and all contracts finished significantly higher by the closing bell.
The lean hog complex traded mixed with the market's nearby contracts trading mildly higher while the deferred months continue to venture lower for the bulk of the session. More than anything it's appearing as though the nearby contracts have found technical support which traders are mildly rallying from. The late session tariff news help bolster the market with only the two far deferred contracts finishing modestly lower. Hopefully, Thursday's WASDE report will offer some guidance into what the demand picture looks like moving forward.
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