Ag markets posted mixed closes Tuesday afternoon

Good harvest conditions continued depressing corn prices Tuesday. The weekly Crop Progress report didn’t seem to affect corn futures Monday night. Indeed, prices resumed their late slide in apparent anticipation of a surge in harvesting, since weather forecasts point to warm, dry weather over the short run. December corn futures dipped 4.75 cents to $3.255/bushel at Tuesday’s close, while May sank 4.5 to $3.4675.

Vegoil gains seemed to limit soy losses. The Crop Progress report indicated an historically high condition rating for beans, but it did fall short of industry expectations. That news, along with overnight palm gains in Asia and spillover strength in soyoil prices, appeared to support the bean market. Meal futures struggled all day. November soybean futures ended Tuesday having slipped 2.0 cents to $9.3625/bushel, while October soyoil bounced 0.23 cents to 32.23 cents/pound, and October soymeal slid $2.3 to $317.1/ton.

Wheat markets also moved mostly lower. The crop condition report yielded little surprising news, which seemingly left wheat futures open to the bearish influence of the corn market. Ultimately, the glutted global situation is apparently exerting persistent pressure upon relatively high domestic wheat prices. The reason for the modest KC advance was unclear. December CBOT wheat closed down 0.75 cent to $4.76/bushel Tuesday, while December KC wheat rose 1.75 cents to $5.62/bushel, and December MWE wheat lost 2.25 to $5.345.

Cattle futures closed narrowly mixed. Cash cattle prices declined late last week, thereby sending negative signals to CME traders. Ongoing wholesale price declines are also discouraging. However, a bearish scenario is already built into prices, so the market ended Tuesday quite mixed. October live cattle futures skidded 0.05 cents to 155.45 cents/pound at their Tuesday settlement, while December futures added 0.07 to 158.72. In contrast, October feeder futures climbed 0.87 cents to 230.15 cents/pound, and January feeders rallied 0.42 to 222.17.

The hog markets also posted a mixed showing. Pork prices continued their recent advance at midday Tuesday, which supported the nearby October future. However, traders seemed to have doubts about intermediate-term prospects, pushing the winter contracts lower. October hogs settled 0.57 cents higher at 107.87 cents/pound Tuesday, while December stumbled 0.45 to 95.25.