By: NATHAN STUEDLE
GRAINS:
July corn closed down 9 cents and December corn was down 6 3/4 cents. July soybeans closed down 11 1/4 cents and November soybeans were down 10 1/2 cents. July KC wheat closed down 10 3/4 cents, July Chicago wheat was down 15 3/4 cents, July Minneapolis wheat was down 10 3/4 cents.
Futures continued their plummet toward multi-month lows at midweek with traders showing next to zero concern for supplies with mostly good weather to begin the 2026 growing season in the U.S. Any risks to global ag trade are seen as a concern for another day with nearby supplies still at a historically comfortable level, though there are warning signs of lower production to come amid the ongoing trade block through the Strait of Hormuz. On that front, Tuesday was said to have featured the heaviest fighting in the region since April as there is still no sign of a lasting agreement between the U.S. and Iran. Crude oil futures have moved higher in all three sessions this week, a bullish influence which has gone unnoticed or uncared for within the ag sector. Another sizeable weekly drawdown to U.S. crude oil reserves was also reflected in firm Treasury yields on inflation concerns with equities likely to snap a recent record-setting win streak as well.
LIVESTOCK:
Without any significant fundamental support and concerns about New World screwworm still lingering, the live cattle contracts were trading mostly lower into Wednesday's closing bell. Unfortunately, unless the fed cash cattle market were to surprise everyone and trade higher this week, a longer lower trend is likely to remain the market's overarching theme. Some light cash cattle trade was noted in eastern Nebraska on Wednesday morning at $405; but otherwise no more trade has developed following Tuesday's light business. On Tuesday, a handful of cattle traded in Texas at $255, but there weren't enough sold to say any sort of a trend has been accurately established for the week.
Keeping in perfect unison with the live cattle complex, the feeder cattle contracts were also trading lower into Wednesday's close, as the market simply doesn't see enough immediate support to justify pushing the contracts higher at this point in time. With the live cattle contracts stuck in a lower trend, it's likely the feeder cattle contracts will be too, through the day's close and into Thursday.
Even though the morning's pork cutout value was a tick lower, the lean hog contracts continued to trade higher for the bulk of the day. The main reason why the spot July contract was trading lower is because traders are beginning to move their positions from June to July and the market's resistance at $102.00 remains a threshold traders aren't confident they can conquer at this time.