By: NATHAN STUEDLE
GRAIN MARKET SUMMARY
Grain futures finished sharply lower Friday, with soybeans and wheat taking the biggest hits following USDA's September Crop Production and WASDE reports.
Corn was lower, but losses were relatively modest. December corn finished at $5.30¼, down 3½ cents, while March lost 3¾ cents to $5.45½. USDA lowered its national corn yield estimate from 180.7 to 178.5 bushels per acre, close to what traders had anticipated.
Soybeans saw much heavier selling. November beans dropped 35¾ cents to $12.96½, giving back Thursday's entire rally and more. January beans were also down 35¾ cents at $13.12. December soybean meal lost $4.10 to $352.80 a ton.
Wheat was sharply lower as well. December Chicago wheat dropped 16 cents to $7.25¼, while December Kansas City wheat lost 20¼ cents to $7.98½.
So, despite USDA lowering the corn yield, the report failed to generate sustained buying. Soybeans led the selloff, wheat suffered double-digit losses, and corn managed to escape with only modest declines.
LIVESTOCK MARKET SUMMARY
It was a completely different story in livestock Friday, with cattle futures exploding higher while lean hogs moved sharply lower.
October live cattle gained $1.85 to $219.67. December jumped $2.62 to $222.22, and February added $2.85 to $224 even. Every live cattle contract on the board finished higher.
But feeder cattle were the real story.
September feeders surged $5.25 to $337.82. October jumped $4.95 to $332.50, while November gained $5.40 to $328.17. Every feeder contract posted gains of nearly four dollars or better.
Lean hogs went exactly the opposite direction. October dropped $1.62 to $81.52, December lost $1.65 to $72.70, and February was down $1.62 at $75.20.
So Friday's livestock trade couldn't have been much more divided: big money flowed into cattle, particularly feeder cattle, while hog futures took losses of more than a dollar across the board.