Grains end quietly mixed as do cattle futures, but hogs rebound into new contract highs.
Brian Grete, editor of Pro Farmer, says the grains have been rangebound and sideways with not a lot of fresh news to move the markets. “We’re needing a catalyst in here to kind of cement lows in these markets to encourage the funds to actively cover short positions and we just haven’t seen that yet,” he says.
Could that come from the April WASDE?
Grete says that’s the next piece of market information that could change that as the market is anticipating a 70 million bushel cut in corn ending stocks number based on a smaller than expected carryover in the Quarterly Stocks Report.
“But that would still leave ending stocks well above 2.0 billion bushels and so I think it probably takes a little bit more than that,” he says. Yet, Grete says you could also make a case for increasing corn demand for ethanol, feed demand or exports.
Live cattle futures saw a slight bounce on Monday after a $15 drop in the June contract from the recent highs to Friday’s lows. So is the market trying to bottom after the liquidation tied to Bovine Influenza A? He says the cash and cutouts will need to respond to help forge a low and feeders must bottom as well. Unfortunately, they put in new lows for the move on Monday.
