DTN's Quick Takes

Darin Newsom
DTN Senior Analyst
and
Rick Kment
DTN Analyst

Grains

OMAHA (DTN) -- Kansas City wheat remains the story in grains, with new-crop July recently posting a new session high of $4.75 1/4. This was a tick shy of a 10-cent rally. Corn is storming the gates near the close, up just over a penny, while soybeans are coming under late pressure again. Old-crop March is down 6 cents and new-crop November is off 5 cents. The U.S. dollar index has resumed its slide, off 0.56, while the DJIA is 130 points higher. Gold is off $10 and crude oil has stretched its rally to $0.81.

Posted 11:58 -- It's a bit of a snooze-fest in everything but wheat today. Corn is fractionally higher (big surprise), soybeans are still down about 3 cents, and the U.S. dollar index is off 0.45. Gold continues to show a loss of $11 while crude oil is up $0.67. The DJIA has stretched its gain to triple-digits, up 114 points. But it's wheat making the headlines with new-crop Kansas City July 8 cents higher. Warm, dry, windy conditions continue over much of the U.S. Southern Plains HRW growing area, sparking increased buying interest heading into the weekend. As mentioned earlier, the contract's intermediate-term uptrend on its weekly chart continues to strengthen.

Posted 10:45 -- Another round of block trades were reported in March soybean options Friday morning and contracts fell to new session lows over the last hour. Whether or not the two are related has yet to be determined, but a pattern is forming. It could also be argued that soybeans, both old-crop March and new-crop November, are simply following short-term technical patters. March is off 5 cents after falling near 9 cents, while November is down 3 cents versus its low down 6 cents. Corn is now fractionally lower. In other news, wheat continues to hold gains with old-crop March Chicago up 3 cents, new-crop July Kansas City up 5 cents, and old-crop March Minneapolis up 3 cents. The U.S. dollar index has stabilized at a loss near 0.40 while the DJIA continues to show a gain of 95 points.

Posted 09:44 -- Soybeans keep acting like a larger break is coming, then stabilize once again. However, both old-crop March and new-crop November have established short-term downtrends on their respective daily charts. Both are trading about 2 cents lower Friday morning. Corn is up about a penny, near daily highs. The big story is a bullish breakout in winter wheat in general, the July Kansas City contract specifically as it popped to a high of $4.74. This indicates the contract's intermediate-term uptrend on its weekly chart is gaining strength. The U.S. dollar index remains down 0.43 while gold is off $12. Crude oil is up $0.25, and the DJIA has gained another 91 points.

Posted 08:36 -- Grains are trading mostly lower early in Friday’s session with soybeans down 2 cents (old-crop March) 3 cents (new-crop November). Corn is fractionally lower across the board. The wheat complex is higher, with contracts generally up about 2 cents. The U.S. dollar index has trimmed its loss to 0.33, possibly due to Treasury Secretary Mnuchin’s attempt to restate his recent comments regarding this administration’s currency policy. Cotton has fallen a full penny while gold is of $12. The DJIA is up another 40 points Friday morning.

Livestock

Posted 11:59 -- Strong gains continue to hold in cattle futures late Friday morning as traders try to position holdings in front of the upcoming cattle on feed report, which will be released Friday afternoon. Feeder cattle futures are holding a $1-to-$1.70 per cwt rally at midday in nearby contracts, while several nearby live cattle futures have now pushed gains to $1 per cwt. The lean hog futures complex remains sluggish with markets posting limited losses, as prices are hovering 2-to-20 cents per cwt lower. The very limited activity in hog markets could keep markets in a tight trading range through closing bell.

Posted 11:14 -- Livestock futures have shaken off early pressure with triple-digit gains holding in feeder cattle markets, while live cattle markets are trading 60-to-98 cents per cwt higher in most contracts. The underlying buyer support is trying to offset the sharp losses seen late Thursday as increased volume is moving into the market at the end of the week. Lean hog futures are holding light gains even though buyer support remains sluggish. There is very limited interest expected to develop across the complex. This could bring increased activity through the end of the session, heading into the weekend.

Posted 09:26 -- Mixed trade is seen in the first hour of trade in all livestock trade. Live cattle futures is holding the tightest trading range with prices from 20 cents lower to 12 cents higher as traders try to adjust from aggressive sharp losses seen Thursday. The potential to bring a sense of stability back to the market at the end of the week would be huge in the cattle complex. Hog futures are also mixed but ranges are more moderate with prices seen from 45 cents per cwt lower to 37 cents higher as most contracts are actually trading higher in early trade. The focus on drawing late week cash market activity to the market is also helping to bring some buyer interest back into all markets.

(BE)

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