GRAINS:
Ag markets were pressured from the opening bell Thursday, led lower by soybeans as the market continues to brace for very large — if not record — production out of South America, as well as for what the outlook for agricultural trade may look like as President-elect Trump takes office on Monday, Jan. 20. Outside market influence Thursday was mixed with equities down slightly, but a weaker U.S. dollar as well. Commodities were mixed with crude oil down slightly but gold up slightly. March corn closed down 4 1/4 cents and May corn was down 5 cents. March soybeans closed down 23 3/4 cents and May soybeans were down 23 3/4 cents. March KC wheat closed down 9 1/4 cents, March Chicago wheat was down 9 1/2 cents, March Minneapolis wheat was down 6 cents.
LIVESTOCK:
It was a lower trending day for the entire livestock complex as all three of the markets traded lower from bell to bell. Thursday’s move appears to be more technically driven than it is fundamentally driven, as pork cutout values are slightly higher and cash cattle prices are trading anywhere from steady to $2.00 higher across cattle country. It’s also worth mentioning that last week we saw a big jump in the CFTC data for non-commercial positions, which could be adding to some of the market’s pressure as some profit taking could be taking place by traders.
