Export news boosted the crop markets Thursday morning

Export news boosted corn and beans Thursday morning. The corn market built upon modest overnight gains this morning after the weekly USDA Export Sales report stated the corn total well above expectations. That news was followed by a daily system report of a 101,600 sale to an unknown destination. December corn futures rallied 6.75 cents to $3.70/bushel around midsession Thursday, while May rose 6.5 to $3.915.

The soy complex also reacted well to the news. Although the soybean export sales number on the report fell well short forecasts, the shipments total and the meal sales total were extremely large. Those results, as well as the subsequent announcement of a daily bean sale of 140,000 tonnes to ‘unknown,’ apparently spurred across-the-board gains. January soybean futures advanced 12.75 cents to $10.175/bushel late Thursday morning, while December soyoil bounced 0.07 cents to 32.58 cents/pound, and December meal gained $4.0 to $374.4/ton.

The wheat markets also rallied despite mediocre export results. Suspicions that U.S. wheat would again be shut out of an Egyptian tender were confirmed this morning and the weekly export sales figure came into toward the lower end of the forecast range. Nevertheless, wheat futures posted some rather impressive gains along with corn and beans. December CBOT wheat climbed 6.75 cents to $5.445/bushel just before lunchtime Thursday, while December KC wheat surged 10.25 cents to $5.965/bushel, and December MWE wheat ran up 8.5 to $5.80.

Cattle futures are trading mixed. Despite strong fundamentals and wintry weather in mid-November, as well as another rise in cutouts at midsession, the nearby cattle contracts had dipped around midsession. Deferred futures still seem to reflect the potential for persistent strength through much of 2015. December live cattle futures dipped 0.30 to 170.52 cents/pound in late Thursday morning action, while April futures gained 0.12 to 170.32. Meanwhile, January feeder cattle futures plunged 1.50 cents to 235.60 cents/pound, and March feeders plummeted 1.77 to 233.55.

Pork weakness is undercutting hogs. Although cash hog prices are edging upward at present, pork quotes are under considerable pressure. Tuesday’s late news to that effect triggered strong selling this morning. Conversely, talk that this week’s kill will only slightly exceed last week’s low total may be limiting losses. December hog futures dove 1.37 cents to 90.40 cents/pound as the lunch hour loomed Thursday, while April hogs tumbled 1.50 to 92.10.

Cotton traders apparently expect short-term weakness. The weekly USDA Export Sales report seemed supportive of the cotton market, since last week’s sales result topped comparable week-ago and four-week average figures by 9% and 41%, respectively. The deferred contracts did turn higher, but the expiring December future fell rather sharply after failing at this week’s highs. December cotton fell 0.62 cents to 58.49 shortly after noon (EST) Thursday, while March futures added 0.17 cents to 59.27.