By: NATHAN STUEDLE
GRAINS:
July corn closed down 11 1/2 cents and December corn was down 10 1/2 cents. July soybeans closed down 16 3/4 cents and November soybeans were down 14 cents. July KC wheat closed down 3 cents, July Chicago wheat was down 10 1/2 cents, July Minneapolis wheat was down 4 cents.
Row-crop futures were more or less red across the board on Wednesday, after rumors surfaced that the U.S. and Iran may be close to a plan to at least restart negotiations, which have been at a standstill now for the past few weeks. Meanwhile, President Trump warned of higher intensity bombings if Iran does not agree to a deal. The U.S. is also pausing efforts to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz. Overall, the situation doesn't appear at surface level to be any closer to a resolution as compared to previous efforts, yet when markets move higher on increased volatility, episodes of headline-driven profit-taking should be expected and that was the case on Wednesday. Row-crop fundamentals for the most part still lean neutral to bearish on the front end, but some degree of seasonal support should remain with a lot still to learn about 2026 crops and a pivotal demand clue upcoming when President Trump visits China now in just over a week.
LIVESTOCK:
Again today, the live cattle contracts were mildly trading higher into Wednesday's closing bell. Following the slight technical regression late last week and through Monday's close, the market is no longer up against immediate resistance pressure and is able to trade slightly higher without fears of pressuring resistance thresholds. There was a single bid on the table at $400 currently in Nebraska, but otherwise the market remains quiet in the cash sector and no cattle have traded yet. It's still assumed that the bulk of this week's trade will be delayed until late Thursday or Friday.
The feeder cattle contracts were also trading higher into Monday's closing hour as the market is pleased to continue to absorb the added support from the live cattle contracts strength. The spot August contract is nearing the market's resistance point, which could cause traders to pull the contract back if greater support doesn't develop.
Meanwhile, the lean hog contracts were trading lower as the market simply can't seem to establish stable footing in the marketplace right now. Thankfully, today's lower trend is still within the market's current sideways trend, and traders haven't driven the spot June contract below the market's support plane, which is encouraging because the market's next support plane is significantly lower around $96.00.