GRAINS:
May corn closed down 5 cents and July corn was down 4 1/2 cents. May soybeans closed down 14 1/2 cents and July soybeans were down 14 1/4 cents. May KC wheat closed up 6 cents, May Chicago wheat was unchanged, May Minneapolis wheat was up 3 1/4 cents.
What has long been expected to be a busy last few days of March kicked off on Friday with the EPA at long last releasing their 2026 and 2027 biofuel blending mandates and will continue next week with the USDA’s annual Prospective Plantings and quarterly Grain Stocks reports. While at first glance the EPA mandates appeared supportive to U.S. ag products used for biofuel creation, the soybean oil market did experience a classic “buy the rumor, sell the fact” type price action, initially falling sharply on the release before rallying back toward even on the day. Meanwhile, soybean futures remained lower as did corn, with the former responding to reports that China has opened investigations into U.S. trade practices in response to U.S. investigations launched earlier this month. Regarding the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, President Trump has delayed his ultimatum to Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz until April 6. Regardless, crude oil prices rose for the second straight day, close to reclaiming Monday’s losses as well as the conflict has shown little sign of meaningful de-escalation despite limited peace talks this week.
LIVESTOCK:
With the aid of steady trade in the cash cattle complex and upon seeing midday boxed beef prices higher, the live cattle contracts were $2.00 to $3.00 higher ahead of Friday’s closing bell. Currently the spot June live cattle contract is trading above its 40-day moving average, which has been a challenging threshold for the market over the last week.
The feeder cattle complex was loving all the support the cattle sector received Friday morning and the contracts were mostly $6.00 to $7.00 higher headed into Friday’s closing bell. Feeder cattle demand has also been stronger this week in sale barns across the country as buyers realize turn-out season is quickly approaching.
The lean hog complex has fully absorbed Thursday’s Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report and made the most out of it as the nearby contracts were more than $1.00 higher heading into Friday afternoon. Hopefully this sizeable move confirms there’s been a short-term bottom established for the futures complex.
