By: NATHAN STUEDLE
GRAINS:
March corn closed up 2 3/4 cents and May corn was up 2 3/4 cents. March soybeans closed up 10 3/4 cents and May soybeans were up 10 3/4 cents. March KC wheat closed up 10 cents, March Chicago wheat was up 7 1/2 cents, March Minneapolis wheat was up 3 1/4 cents.
Row-crop futures recovered from a shaky Tuesday session to trader higher again Wednesday on a mix of technically influenced buying as well as perceived risk for the U.S. winter wheat crop amid well-above average temperatures for early January. Outside markets for Wednesday saw mixed equities, with the Dow Jones lower on profit-taking following a record setting run to start the week. Energy markets have moved lower over the past two sessions on President Trump's announcement that Venezuela will sell 50 million barrels of crude oil to the U.S. at market price, while Wednesday's Petroleum Status report showed U.S. crude oil stocks to already be 3% larger than the same point in 2024.
LIVESTOCK:
Traders continued to let the live cattle contracts trade in a moderately lower manner as the market needs to see more immediate fundamental support before traders will feel confident trading the contracts any higher. But even with the market's slight regression, the live cattle contracts are still currently trading above the market's 100-day moving average. A single bid of $232 is currently on the table in Kansas, but no trade has developed yet. Asking prices are firm in the South at $235 to $237, but are still not established in the North. Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice up $1.22 ($352.47) and select down $0.31 ($350.77) with a movement of 87 loads (63.12 loads of choice, 6.90 loads of select, 4.01 loads of trim and 13.04 loads of ground beef).
The feeder cattle complex also traded lower, seeming to simply follow the direction of the live cattle complex. Today's lower action is a technical decision, not a good representation of what's transpiring in the countryside, as feeder cattle prices were on fire both on Monday and Tuesday.
Although midday pork cutout values were a tick higher, the lean hog complex still traded lower as traders yearn to see more fundamental support. The market is running into some resistance pressure that is binding its upward momentum, and until something substantial develops fundamentally, the market could be pressured to trade sideways, if not somewhat lower.