Grain bulls in charge of corn, soybean prices. Wednesday, April 27, 2022

May corn was the leader in the corn pit as futures pushed to new contract highs (by ½¢). The final trades on the day were up 15¢, within pennies of the high for the day. New-crop corn did its best to ride the wave higher as futures were 8¢ higher on the last trade of the day. The high today was within 2¢ of the contract high on April 19.

Wheat prices were able to end the day off the lows, but prices still closed lower in CBOT and KC wheat. Spring wheat futures were able to push toward the $12 mark on the July contract today. The March 8 high at $12.12 looks to be within striking distance, especially with the short-term weather forecast.

Livestock prices did not like the higher grain prices today and the uncertainty about demand in China. Feeder cattle were down $3.30 to $4.05 while Live Cattle were down $1.25 to $1.97. Lean hogs ended the day up 52¢ to down $1.05.

Crude oil has battled back to nearly unchanged on the day. The bulls would like to gain momentum above key moving averages to see if traders on the sideline will reenter the long side. The Weekly Energy Report released today showed continued decline in gasoline demand. Traders fear high prices are restricting usage and will likely continue to keep drivers off the road.

The U.S. dollar maintained much of the early session strength today. June futures are closing in on the March 2020 high. Normally, a strong U.S. dollar is not a good thing for commodities as many are priced in U.S. dollars. Traders are surely starting to think about the possibility of recession given recent economic reports and current market conditions.

Many of the grain futures have pushed to new highs since the morning update.

May corn is leading the charge higher in corn, up 13¢ at $8.16. We did see a new contract high for May corn today. December is up a nickel, just shy of the $7.50 mark.

Soybeans are building some momentum to the upside today. May is up 23¢. July is up 19¢ and November is up 21¢. The Indonesian president confirmed his country would implement an export ban on cooking oil products and all of its raw material.

Weather forecasts for the heart of the Corn Belt are not ideal. Any warm-up that starts to surface in updated models will likely put some pressure on grains.

Livestock futures have drifted lower throughout the morning. Feeder cattle are getting hit the hardest as corn is making new contract highs. August feeder cattle are down $4.00 while April live cattle are down 57¢. June lean hogs are down 90¢ while August hogs are down 25¢.

Crude oil is still lower on the day but off the lows by more than $1. The stock market has found some buyers after prices tested the mid-March lows yesterday. The S&P futures are up 1.2%, and the Dow futures are up 1%.

The U.S. dollar is raging higher today. Currently, the June futures are up 0.57 at 102.89. The high from today is 103.29, which is getting closer to the March 2020 high of 103.96.

Corn is up 5¢. Soybeans are up 4¢ to 12¢, and wheat is down 2¢ to 11¢. The bull spreads in corn have rebounded nicely after the rough start to the week. The July vs. November soybean spread is sliding lower again today. The spread is below a few of the major moving averages but should find support within the next nickel to the downside.

Livestock futures are mixed in early trade on Wednesday. April Feeder Cattle are up 35¢ while August is down $1.02. Live Cattle are quietly lower as April is down 12¢ and June is down 45¢.

Lean Hogs are slowly trying to recover from early week selling. June Hogs are up 37¢ and August is up 70¢.

Crude oil is down $1.25 this morning. The bulls are having a difficult time gaining any momentum over the 30-day average on the charts. Once we see a convincing move through this line of resistance, we could see momentum with traders jumping back in on the long side. Support was found on Monday near the 70-day average. That is the line of support to watch over the short-term.

The U.S. dollar is higher again today. The June contract breached the 103 mark this morning, which is the highest level since March 2020 on the continuation chart. The next upside target for the bulls is the March 2020 high at 103.96.

The U.S. stock market is trying to recover some of the losses from Tuesday. The S&P 500 futures are up 1% and the Dow Jones is up 0.75%. The S&P futures came within a few points of the March 15 low on Tuesday. Momentum indicators are trying to turn higher after reaching the lowest levels in three months.

Tags: feeder cattle, lean hogs, corn, grain, prices, животноводство, wheat, futures, live cattle, spring wheat