CORN
- May corn up 4 @ 5.56 & Dec corn up 5 @ 4.74
- Ethanol production for the week ending 2/19 average 658K barrels per day – down 27.77% last week & down 37.5 last year
- Net drying will continue across much of Argentina through next Tuesday
- Brazil “may” produce a record corn crop of 108.2 mln T
- 5.90 ½ next upside target/resistance for May futures
- Funds expected to still be 384K contracts long
SOYBEANS
- May up 12 @ 14.20 & Nov up 13 @ 12.34
- Most of Brazil will continue to be favorable; though some areas will still too wet
- Reuters reports Brazilian crop estimate raised to 134 mln T from 132.4 mln T
- Slow in Brazil harvest and tight balance sheets keep prices moving upward
- Soybean & canola oil futures continue to surge into new contract highs
- Funds expected to still be 150K contracts long
WHEAT
- May up 10 @ 6.80, May KC up 10 @ 6.56, May MNPLS up 7 @ 6.55
- NOAA Climate Prediction Center is calling for drought to remain/develop over all of the plains minus southeastern portion through all of spring
- Traders still assessing risk to crops from the cold both in US and European wheat belts last week
- May futures moving to re-test contract high from Jan 18th of 6.93
- Paris milling futures higher pushing US wheat higher today
CATTLE
- April LC up 1.00 @ 122.20 & March up 1.15 @ 139.75
- Cold Storage reported yesterday red meat supplies in freezers up 3% from last month
- Cold Storage reported yesterday total lbs. of beef in freezers were down 3% from last month
- Boxed beef prices up .31 @ 240.29 & Select up .55 @ 230.53
- Today’s slaughter est. at 122K head
- Bids at 113-114 & FC index for 2/22 down .72 @ 140.39
- Open interest lost 3599 for April futures & gained 640 for March FC
HOGS
- April up 2.45 @ 88.90 & April Pork Cutout up 1.37 @ 94.10
- Cold Storage reported yesterday frozen pork supplies were up 11% from last month
- Cold Storage reported yesterday stocks of pork bellies were up 2% from last month
- Pork values advance – hams to 86.00 from 73.46 last week
- Hog slaughter estimated at 496K head
- Cash lean index up .31 @ 77.74 for 2/19
- O/I: Lost 395 positions for April hogs & pork cutout futures gained 28 positions
Author
Amberlee Bratcher