By: NATHAN STUEDLE
GRAINS:
December corn closed down 3 cents and March corn was down 3 cents. November soybeans closed down 6 1/4 cents and January soybeans were down 6 1/2 cents. December KC wheat closed down 6 1/4 cents, December Chicago wheat was down 4 cents, December Minneapolis wheat was down 2 1/4 cents.
U.S. ag futures were lower for the most part Thursday as traders remain hesitant to overcommit to long positions ahead of the ramping up of U.S. harvest with large U.S. supply forecasts lingering in the back of traders' minds. Outside markets Thursday were mostly negative influence on agricultural interests with a firmer U.S. dollar and weaker energy markets. Equity markets continued to press higher into new records for both the S&P and Dow, following the expected quarter point rate cut from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday.
LIVE CATTLE:
The back-and-forth nature of the live cattle market trade continues. Wednesday afternoon the market closed lower, but throughout Thursday's trade the market was slightly stronger. It is interesting to note gains in the nearby contracts are moderate, but the furthest deferred contracts are all trading more than $1.50 higher. A single bid of $239 live is currently being offered in Kansas, but otherwise the cash market is silent for the meantime. Asking prices are firm in the South at $240-plus, but are still not established in the North. Packer interest should improve at any moment now.
And almost like clockwork, upon seeing the live cattle contracts trading stronger, the feeder cattle contracts also traded higher into Thursday's closing bell. It's likely that so long as the live cattle contracts continue to trade higher and close higher, the feeder cattle complex will be able to maintain its stronger position as well.
The lean hog complex traded modestly higher into Thursday's close, as traders continue to chop the contracts sideways but are pleased to see both cash prices and midday pork values slightly higher. Traders still seem unwilling to really push the market outside of its current trading range, but the slight uptick in fundamental support is helpful nonetheless.