By: NATHAN STUEDLE
GRAINS:
July corn closed up 3/4 cents and December corn was up 4 1/2 cents. July soybeans closed up 6 3/4 cents and November soybeans were up 8 1/4 cents. July KC wheat closed up 2 cents, July Chicago wheat was up 2 1/4 cents, July Minneapolis wheat was up 1 3/4 cents.
Markets were mostly higher Thursday with old-crop corn futures again showing a high level of uncertainty on where market value should be, while new-crop prices extended their rally to three days, widening the premium over old-crop in the process. Soybean futures were also higher after President Trump spoke with China's President Xi early Thursday with President Trump calling the discussion "positive." Wheat markets lagged behind corn and soybeans Thursday after hitting technical resistance on their respective charts. In macro news, the U.S. trade deficit for April of $61.6 billion was the largest monthly cut on record as U.S. imports dropped drastically as the Trump administration's tariffs set in. Financial markets traded higher amid the day's news, while energy markets were mixed. Notably ethanol prices have drifted lower over the past two weeks, trading now to their lowest price since mid-May and prior to that since early March.
LIVESTOCK:
It was assumed traders would continue to support the live cattle complex so long as fundamental support was sufficient -- and obviously traders deemed the $3.00 to $8.00 jump in Southern live cattle prices Wednesday afternoon as enough support to justify another impeccable rally throughout the futures complex. What's so significant about this rally is currently the spot August contract has blown past the market's previous resistance threshold and it's looking like the contract could carve out a new contract high.
Upon seeing the live cattle contracts launch higher, the feeder cattle complex couldn't stand the idea of being left out and so traders quickly followed suit and sent the feeder cattle contracts rallying as well. Demand continues to be impeccable in the feeder cattle complex as the market remains short of supply and buyers want to have pens of cattle to market later this fall when prices are still projected to be record-breaking strong.
The lean hog complex is trading mixed as with the market's fundamental support this morning showing pork cutout values slightly higher but cash prices are lower. Until traders see full support from the market's fundamentals, they'll likely remain hesitant to trade the futures contracts any higher.
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