(AgProfessional) – Corn futures may be benefiting from spillover support. The 2015 corn crop is getting off to an outstanding start, thereby boding very well for the fall harvest and depressing prices. However, futures have bounced from Tuesday’s midsession dip to seven-month lows. That probably reflected spillover strength from the soybean and wheat markets, as well as bargain hunting in the wake of recent losses. July corn futures gained 1.25 cents to $3.64/bushel Tuesday night, while December added 1.0 to $3.80.
Soyoil continues leading the soy complex upward. A rebound in palm oil prices, as well as climbing crude oil markets boosted soybean oil futures again last night, which in turn offered spillover support for beans. Talk
of Argentine strikes, Chinese demand and an acreage shift toward corn is also encouraging bulls. Meal is suffering by comparison as traders unwind meal/oil crush spreads. July soybean futures rose 1.25 cents to
$9.86/bushel shortly after sunrise Wednesday, while July soyoil advanced 0.26 cents to 33.31 cents/pound, but July meal skidded $0.4 to $314.8/ton.
Wheat markets are reacting to wheat tour results. The Wheat Quality Council’s annual wheat tour is underway this week, with the first day’s results pointing to very uneven growth and productive potential. The early consensus points to relatively low yields, thereby offering growing support for prices at the various exchanges. July CBOT wheat futures rallied 2.5 cents to $4.69/bushel early Wednesday morning, while July KC wheat climbed 4.0 cents to $4.9425/bushel, and July MWE wheat moved up 5.0 to $5.2975.
Seasonal expectations conflicted in the cattle pit Tuesday. Cattle slaughter and beef supplies usually surge from March lows to early-summer highs, but beef demand also reaches peak levels during that period. Those
competing factors are apparently clashing in the cattle pit these days, with bulls seemingly having the upper hand for now as grocers aggressively buy beef for features over Memorial Day weekend. But weak afternoon beef quotes bode ill for today’s opening. June live cattle futures climbed 0.72 cents to 151.45 cents/pound in late Tuesday action, while August cattle rallied 0.77 to 149.90. Meanwhile, May feeder cattle futures lifted 0.22 cents to 215.37 cents/pound, and August feeders surged 0.92 to 218.25.
Rising pork prices boosted CME hogs. The CME lean hog index, which futures cash-settle against, has been leaping upward lately. Ideas that the surge will continue are almost surely powering persistent gains in CME futures, with Tuesday’s midsession pork gains likely encouraging bulls as well. Significant premiums already built into Chicago prices probably limited gains, but big afternoon gains suggest an opening Wednesday morning surge. June hog futures advanced 0.92 cents to 82.75 cents/pound at Tuesday’s settlement, while December dipped 0.37 to 69.47.
Technical selling likely exaggerated overnight cotton losses. As has become routine recently, little fresh cotton news emerged overnight. We’re inclined to blame recent slippage in New York fiber values upon concerns about the economic outlook, with yesterday’s late equity index losses seeming to weigh upon prices overnight. Having the most-active July contract drop below recently firm support associated with its 10-day moving average probably exacerbated the selling. July cotton fell 0.54 cents to 66.21 in early Wednesday trading, while December futures dropped 0.56 to 65.93.
