Grain and livestock futures closed mostly higher on Friday.
Corn Has Impressive Week
Mark Schultz, Northstar Commodity, says corn December corn closed above the $4 level on Friday and was nearly steady for the week.
He says the corn market got some help from the rally in soybeans but had an impressive performance for the week considering the extremely bearish August WASDE data.
“You threw an additional 1 billion bushels of corn on the new crop production total and another 2.1 million corn acres so to end up nearly steady on the week is a huge victory,” he says.
How Big is the Corn Crop?
The corn market may have shook off the record 188.8 bushel yield and 16.7 billion bushel production estimates in disbelief.
That will make the Pro Farmer Crop Tour important next week he says for confirming how big the crop really is.
Is the Low in the Corn Market?
So with December corn closing above $4 does that confirm an early harvest low?
Schultz says while it was positive he would like to see a close above $4.07 for confirmation.
Soybeans Higher for the Week
Soybeans were higher on Friday and November was up 55 cents for the week with the tailwind of the bullish August WASDE showing a tight ending stocks figure of 290 million bushels.
However, November could not take out the $10.50 resistance area on the charts.
Not only that but Schultz says China has still not bought any new crop soybeans from the U.S. so that may make it difficult to get above that price level.
Wheat Follows Corn and Soybeans
Wheat also ended higher on short covering with spillover from higher corn and soybeans.
The market was also helped out by weakness in the U.S. dollar index.
The market may have been waiting for developments out of the meeting between in Trump and Putin in Alaska and the possibility of a cease fire.
However, Schultz says he’s been disappointed with the performance of the wheat market, especially spring wheat, with the early harvest results showing quality issues.
Cattle Surge With Higher Boxed Beef and NWS News
Live and feeder cattle futures both surged on Friday as Choice boxed beef was up over $6 at noon.
The market may have also been relieved that USDA’s New World screwworm (NWS) did not include an announcement of the border reopening to Mexican cattle imports.
USDA announced a $750 million investment in a sterile fly production facility in Texas and no indication of the border opening any time soon.
Will Cattle Retest the Highs?
Schultz says Choice beef is up nearly $35 in 11 sessions and cash is still above the futures so the rally should continue.
So, will the cattle futures retest the highs?
“We were within striking distance on Friday and so I think the answer is yes,” he says.
Lean Hog Futures Also Higher
Lean hog futures saw spillover from the higher cattle market.
August went off the board Thursday and left October at a $20 discount which attracted some buying as well.
