By: NATHAN STUEDLE
GRAIN MARKET RECAP
Grain markets finished mostly higher Thursday, led by another solid move in corn.
September corn gained 5 and three-quarter cents to $4.78 and three-quarters, while December added 5 and a quarter to $5.03 and a quarter. Corn found continued support from concerns over Midwest yield potential following lower yield estimates coming out of the crop tour.
Soybeans were mixed. September beans slipped a penny and a half to $12.20 and three-quarters, while November was down three-quarters of a cent at $12.36 and a half. Deferred contracts finished modestly higher. USDA also announced a sale of 150,000 metric tons of soybeans to unknown destinations.
Wheat finished higher in Chicago, with September up 2 and a half cents at $6.82 and three-quarters and December gaining the same amount to $7.00. Kansas City wheat was narrowly mixed, with September essentially unchanged at $7.62 and a quarter. Black Sea shipping disruptions continue to provide underlying support to the wheat market.
LIVESTOCK MARKET RECAP
Livestock futures were mixed Thursday, with cattle recovering from early weakness while lean hogs were mostly lower.
Live cattle finished higher in most contracts. October gained 77 and a half cents to $218.00, December added $1.12 and a half to $218.27 and a half, while February was $1.10 higher at $218.90. Nearby August finished essentially unchanged, down seven and a half cents at $223.35.
Feeder cattle also recovered from early selling. August remained $1.55 lower at $335.30, but September trimmed its loss to 20 cents at $328.92 and a half. October gained 65 cents to $322.70, with deferred contracts finishing from roughly 80 cents to $1.90 higher. Cattle had traded sharply lower early before reversing as the session progressed.
Lean hogs were mostly lower. October dropped $1.27 and a half to $80.22 and a half, December lost 67 and a half cents to $70.75 and February declined 42 and a half cents to $73.82 and a half.
Thursday’s export report showed beef sales of 9,300 metric tons, down 36 percent from the previous week, while pork sales totaled 27,300 tons, down 25 percent.