Ag markets turned generally mixed Monday morning

Export news affected the crop markets Monday morning. After declining Sunday night in reaction to the near-miss on northern Plains frost damage, corn futures seemed set to add to those losses today. That changed after a 120,000-tonne corn sale to Mexico was announced. The poor showing on the Export Inspections report seemed to cap early gains. December corn futures rose 1.75 cents to $3.4025/bushel late Monday morning, while May added 1.25 to $3.6075.

The soy complex also responded to good export news. The lack of frost damage to the soybean crop in the northern Corn Belt also undercut CBOT soy prices. However, news of another bean sale to China and a strong result on the Export Inspections report supported the soy complex. Soyoil posted a belated bullish response to Asian palm oil strength. November soybean futures bounced 4.5 cents to $9.8975/bushel around midsession Monday, while October soyoil rallied 0.43 cents to 32.98 cents/pound, and October soymeal edged up $0.5 to $339.0/ton.

The wheat markets remained under pressure. There is little news concerning the domestic wheat markets to start the week. Internationally, weekend news that Saudi Arabia bought 610,000 tonnes of wheat was more than offset by talk of a big increase in Russian production. December CBOT wheat sagged 2.0 cents to $5.005/bushel just before lunchtime Monday, while December KC wheat tumbled 6.5 cents to $5.8675/bushel, and December MWE wheat dropped 6.75 to $5.7125.

Cattle futures aren’t acting well. The cash cattle markets belatedly traded around unchanged levels late last week, which seemed likely to give discounted CME futures a lift. Instead, the nearby contracts ended last week poorly and remain weak this morning; that seems to bode rather ill for prices when viewed pragmatically. October live cattle futures dipped 0.47 cents to 155.80 cents/pound in Monday morning action, while December futures slumped 0.67 to 159.57. Meanwhile, October feeder futures sank 0.87 cents to 225.05 cents/pound, while January feeders slid 0.85 to 216.92.

Hog futures are trading quite mixed to start the week. The cash and wholesale markets turned decidedly mixed late last week, so bulls who have recently built a bullish bias built into nearby CME futures are apparently having second thoughts about fall-winter price prospects. October hogs gained 0.37 cents to 106.07 cents/pound as the lunch hour loomed Monday, while December skidded 0.15 to 96.15.