Corn and soybeans inch higher. February 16, 2024

The corn and soybean markets are higher with wheat again lower in Friday trade ahead of the three-day weekend.

This week the annual USDA Ag Outlook conference came out with (as expected) large yield and ending stocks projections. They cut corn acres by 3.6 million to 91 million acres and used a yield of 181 bushels per acre. Even with expanded usage projections ending stocks swell to 2.532 billion bushels. For soybeans acreage increased by 3.9 million acres to 87.5 million acres, with a whopping yield of 52 bushels per acre ending stocks increase to 435 million bushels. For wheat the bottom line is that even with 2.6 million acres less projected, wheat ending stocks increase to 1.909 billion bushels.

Corn futures are 1¢ higher, soybean futures are 9¢ higher, and winter wheat futures are 3 to 7¢ lower. Spring wheat is 2¢ lower.

In the outside markets the US dollar is up 0.04 points, the S&P is down 5 points, the Dow is down 75 points, and energy prices are slightly higher.

In the livestock markets today, April hogs are down 37¢, April cattle are up $1.72, and March Feeder cattle are up $3.35.

Tags: futures, live cattle, feeder cattle, lean hogs, corn, soybeans, wheat