First Thing Today Audio | June 16, 2021
Corn futures are choppy to higher after seeing two-sided action overnight. Soybean futures are down 11 to 15 cents, with new-crop leading losses. November futures appear headed for a test of the May low at $13.25 3/4. Winter wheat futures are up 1 to 2 cents and spring wheat is up 8 cents. The greenback is just below unchanged. Crude oil futures hit another new 2.5-year high overnight. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq stock index futures have scored record highs this week, with very little risk aversion in the marketplace.
Federal Reserve officials will likely keep interest rates near zero and maintain their monthly purchases of about $120 billion in Treasury and mortgage bonds when they wrap up their two-day meeting today, analysts note. But new forecasts to be released could show that officials anticipate raising rates sooner than they did in March.
The Biden administration is developing targets for biofuel that are likely to be relatively flat or even lower as it seeks to balance the interests of blue-collar refining workers and advance a clean-energy agenda, Bloomberg reported.
Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan will likely export 66 MMT of wheat during the 2021-22 marketing year beginning July 1, a 5% rise from the previous season, according to analysts polled by Reuters.
Democrats will meet today to discuss possible next steps for a massive "two-track" infrastructure plan. Democratic lawmakers said they would negotiate with Republicans on a bill that focuses on traditional transportation. However, if a deal can't be reached, Democrats would fold those programs into a larger climate bill using budget reconciliation.
President Joe Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin kick off what could be more than four hours of meetings this afternoon in Geneva.
China’s pig herd surged 23.5% in May compared with the year prior, according to state media citing the country’s ag ministry. The country’s sow herd was up 19.3% from year-ago during May and at 98.4% of levels seen at the close of 2017.
The second day of an Oklahoma City feeder cattle auction featured $4 to $7 higher prices, with some instances of $10 gains for feeder steers. At a hearing yesterday, Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack said he supports a proposal to appoint a special USDA investigator to examine competition in the meatpacking industry.
Nearby lean hog futures settled narrowly mixed, with the front month benefitting from its discount to the CME lean hog index. But deferred contracts faced another day of moderate to strong pressure, despite strong morning gains for the pork cutout value. Cash hog bids climbed an average of $5.83 yesterday.
