Monday's Closing Grain and Livestock Futures
Mar. corn closed at $6.85 and 1/2, up 5 and 1/4 cents
Mar. soybeans closed at $13.88 and 1/2, up 21 and 1/4 cents
Mar. soybean meal closed at $408.90, up $9.90
Mar. soybean oil closed at 49.96, up 6 points
Mar. wheat closed at $7.51 and 1/4, up 4 cents
Feb. live cattle closed at $133.00, up 5 cents
Feb. lean hogs closed at $86.30, up 7 cents
Feb. crude oil closed at $93.19, up 10 cents
Mar. cotton closed at 75.71, up 66 points
Jan. Class III milk closed at $17.97, down 6 cents
Feb. gold closed at $1,646.30, down $2.60
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 13,384.29, down 50.92 points
For overnight futures prices click: http://www.farms.com/markets
Market News and Recap
Soybeans were higher on technical and commercial buying. Contracts were due for a bounce after the recent losses and even if export demand has been slow, the fundamentals look solid thanks to the tight supply. Past that – the trade’s getting ready for Friday’s final 2012 production figure, along with ending stocks and quarterly supply numbers. Soybean meal was higher, following beans and showing evidence of commercial demand, while oil was up modestly, mostly due to the firm crude oil. Areas of southern Brazil could see localized flooding, but areas further north will benefit from the rain, and Argentina is expected to be dry over the near term.
Corn was higher on commercial and technical buying, along with spillover from beans. Corn was also getting squared up ahead of those USDA numbers out on Friday. Unknown destinations bought 102,200 tons of U.S. corn for delivery during the current marketing year. According to Dow Jones Newswires, the Gulf cash basis for corn firmed up Monday thanks to that export sale. Ethanol futures were higher.
The wheat complex was higher on technical and commercial buying. There’s some precipitation headed for the Southern Plains, but coverage should be light, not nearly enough to break the drought, and in any event, the market has largely been ignoring weather lately. Along with all the other reports, USDA will be releasing winter wheat acreage estimates on Friday at the new release time of Noon Eastern/11 AM Central. European wheat was lower on the higher euro and traders waiting for Friday’s USDA numbers.
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