Corn up less than 1¢. Wednesday, April 17, 2024

May corn is up less than a penny this morning.

May soybeans are up 5¢.

CBOT wheat is down 1½¢. KC what is down 4¢. Minneapolis wheat is up less than a penny.

“Grain and soybean futures are narrowly mixed at the end of an early trading session that set a new standard for dullness,” said The Brock Report prior to this morning’s open. “An absence of fresh fundamental news and fresh geopolitical concerns added up to very little price movement.

“Corn futures traded ranges of just 2½¢ or less, while soybean futures held in ranges of 6¢ or less and wheat futures charted ranges of 7¾¢ or less. Trade is likely to remain cautious this morning barring unexpected developments.”

The Commstock Report has its eye on the weather.

“There’s still no sign of any weather issues with planting, so there is no need to build in any ‘weather premium’ in the minds of traders,” says the Commstock Report. “That could change tomorrow when the Climate Prediction Center updates its three-month outlook for May-July.

“Globally speaking, the only glimmers of supportive news are slightly lower production forecasts for both Ukraine and Russia and ongoing conviction that USDA’s estimates for South American soybean and corn crops will inevitably be coming down to more in line with their own estimates down there.

“Shorter-term, geopolitics, and even U.S. politics for that matter, are powder kegs of uncertainty that have the U.S. dollar at the highest levels since last fall.

“The Iranian attack on Israel was a sea change in Tehran’s strategy, no longer content to rely on its proxies in the region. For its part, Israel will only say it’s going to ‘respond’ and when it does, Tehran says it will strike again.

“The powder keg in U.S. politics is renewed calls for House Speaker [Mike] Johnson to resign as he struggles to get support for separate bills to fund new aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.”

The U.S. Dollar Index June contract is down to 106.05 this morning.

Live cattle are down 83¢. Feeder cattle are down 65¢. Lean hogs are down 25¢.

Crude oil is down 55¢.

S&P 500 futures are up 2 points. Dow futures are down 1 points.

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