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Overnight highlights. Following are highlights of overnight trade (as of 6:40 a.m. CT) and opening livestock calls:
Corn: 9 to 11 cents higher. Corn futures came out of the holiday weekend finding spillover from the soybean market, as well as reports of disappointing Midwest yields. Technically, corn remains in a consolidation range, with December finding support at $8.00. Soybeans: 20-plus cents higher. Soybean futures are still looking for a price that rations demand, as futures have posted fresh contract highs again. November beans are pivoting around $17.75, making bulls’ next upside target the $18.00 level. China’s Ministry of Commerce has lowered its estimate for August soybean imports to 4.53 million metric tons (MMT) from its earlier forecast of 5.3 MMT, saying crushers have slowed purchases due to declining profit margins. Wheat: 5 to 9 cents higher. Futures are higher this morning on spillover from neighboring pits, as there are signs of price rationing. Egypt purchased 365,000 MT of Russian, Ukrainian and Romanian wheat over the weekend for shipment in October. This signals U.S. prices are not competitive on the global market.
Live cattle: Mixed. Futures are expected to be choppy this morning as traders wait to see how weekend beef clearance faired. Strong morning movement would signal retailers are planning some post-Labor Day features. However, if movement slows, it would raise concerns about near-term beef demand. Last week the bulk of cash cattle traded $2 to $3 higher at $123 in the Southern Plains, although movement was light. Lean hogs: Mixed. Futures are expected to be mixed as traders reevaluate positions. Pressure should be limited by the already large discount nearby contracts hold to the cash index. However, ongoing sow liquidation is lowering packers’ demand for cash hogs and burdening the pork pipeline.
