By: NATHAN STUEDLE
GRAINS:
September corn closed down 4 1/2 cents and December corn was down 3 cents. September soybeans closed unchanged, and November soybeans were unchanged. September KC wheat closed down 7 1/2 cents, September Chicago wheat was down 6 1/2 cents, September Minneapolis wheat was down 5 1/2 cents.
For the Week:
September corn closed down 10 cents and December corn was down 8 1/4 cents. September soybeans closed down 32 1/2 cents and November soybeans were down 31 3/4 cents. September KC wheat closed down 7 3/4 cents, September Chicago wheat was down 21 1/2 cents and September Minneapolis wheat was down 12 1/2 cents.
Ag markets were mixed to close the week in a quiet session in which macroeconomic news was in the spotlight. The Aug. 1 deadline for tariffs arrived at midnight Friday morning, with the Trump administration announcing a 7-day grace period before newly announced sweeping tariffs will take effect. Adding to investor worries on Friday was a surprisingly shaky July jobs report which showed a slowdown in job creation through early summer. The thus-far resilient labor market in 2025 has been a key pillar which the Fed has pointed to in its decisions to hold rates steady, with the market now widely expecting a series of cuts later this fall. As for ag markets, the direct effects of Friday's tariff announcements remain relatively unknown, as many key trading partners had previously struck deals with the Trump administration, while top partners Canada and Mexico will still get exemptions for goods under USMCA. The initial weakness for Friday stemmed heavily from the energy sector, where a sharp moves lower in crude oil futures as well as RBOB gasoline and diesel were felt in ag markets such as soybean oil and corn.
LIVESTOCK:
Following Thursday's technical turbulence, the live cattle complex got back to trading higher as traders were pleased to see the fed cash cattle market trading higher. A light trade has been reported in Kansas at $236, which is $1.00 higher than Thursday's trade and $3.00 higher than last week's weighted average. A few deals have also been reported in Texas at $235, which is fully steady with Thursday's trade. Asking prices remain firm in the South at $236 plus and in the North at $384 plus. More trade will likely develop throughout the afternoon, and once again, feedlot managers have been rewarded for their patient willingness to trade cattle later in the week as packers have upped their bids.
The feeder cattle complex also traded higher as traders have regained their focus from sheer panic and chaos, to one that's more clear and more stable, and is fixated on the current thriving performance of the cattle complex. Even though the futures complex dived lower Thursday afternoon, that hasn't affected demand in the countryside whatsoever.
The lean hog complex is trading higher into Friday's noon hour as traders are pleased with the uptick in pork demand late this week and are also grateful for the stability found throughout the futures complex, as traders have seemed to establish a new bottom in the market for at least this current move. August lean hogs are up $0.12 at $107.25, October lean hogs are up $0.40 at $89.97 and December lean hogs are up $0.35 at $82.07. Given that packers were so aggressive in the market earlier this week, it's unlikely that they'll do much more buying this afternoon, as their needs are fulfilled in the cash sector.