DTN's Quick Takes

Todd Hultman
DTN Analyst
and
Rick Kment
DTN Analyst

Grains

OMAHA (DTN) -- As we near the close, July corn is up 1 1/4 cents, July soybeans are up 5 1/4 cents and July K.C. wheat is up 15 1/2 cents. Grains are holding their earlier gains with K.C. wheat leading the way, thanks to a hot weekend expected in the southwestern Plains. The June U.S. dollar index is up 0.47 and July crude oil is down $2.87. August cattle are up $0.52 after USDA said U.S. cattle on feed were up 5% from a year ago on May 1, close to expectations.

Posted 11:46 -- July corn is up 1 1/2 cents, July soybeans are up 6 1/4 cents and July K.C. wheat is up 12 1/4 cents. As expected on a Friday ahead of Memorial Day weekend, trading volume is low, but grains are holding their gains with K.C. wheat still responding higher to this weekend's hot forecast in the southwestern Plains. Most outside commodities are lower and July crude oil is down $3.14 after Bloomberg news and others reported Saudi Arabia and Russia are considering increasing production.

Posted 09:34 -- July corn is up 1 1/4 cents, July soybeans are up 6 1/2 cents, and July K.C. wheat is up 10 3/4 cents. K.C. wheat is back near its highest prices in ten10 months. Despite morning showers in eastern Kansas and Oklahoma, the seven-day forecast remains mostly dry for the southwestern Plains with triple-digit temperatures expected in West Texas this weekend and early next week. The June U.S. dollar index is trading up 0.40, even though the U.S. Commerce Department said durable goods orders were down 1.7% in April, weaker than expected.

Posted 08:37 -- After the 8:30 open, July corn is up 1 cent, July soybeans are up 7 1/2 cents and July K.C. wheat is up 7 1/4 cents. Despite Thursday's broad sell-off, buyers continue to show interest in grains and new-crop soybeans are starting to get more attention. Early Friday, USDA said 11.5 million bushels (mb) (312,000 metric tons) of U.S. soybeans were sold to China for 2018-19. China also bought another 6.1 mb (165,000 mt) of new-crop soybeans on an optional origin contract.

Livestock

Posted 12:10 -- Mixed trade is seen in livestock futures midday Friday. Traders are quickly looking for any and all exit doors as markets will close in nearly an hour ahead of the long holiday weekend. This will leave markets closed until Tuesday morning. Live cattle futures are mixed in a narrow range from 2 cents lower to 15 cents higher. Light gains are seen in the lean hog complex, with front month futures still hanging on to moderate losses due to limited trade activity. The rest of the complex is slightly higher as follow through support is trickling into the market.

Posted 10:26 -- Buyer support has slowly but steadily developed in cattle trade through the morning. This has replaced early losses in all but spot-month June live cattle contracts with most live cattle futures holding 20-cent to 30-cent gains. The move higher in feeder cattle futures is leading the complex with August futures trading 95 cents per cwt higher in light to moderate trade. Lean hog futures are mixed to mostly higher as July through October futures are trading 77 cents to 97 cents per cwt higher as traders prepare to adjust end of the week and pre-holiday positions over the next couple of hours. Trade volume is expected to remain sluggish through most of the session due to limited trader involvement Friday.

Posted 09:22 -- Moderate spill over buying activity is seen across lean hog markets early Friday morning. Despite spot month lean hog futures shifting lower with 30-cent losses, the rest of the complex is holding firm gains from 30-cent to 70-cent support. Trade volume remains extremely light in cattle trade with early pressure slowly fading during the first hour of trade. This is keeping prices steady to 35 cents per cwt lower in nearby live cattle trade, while feeder cattle futures are mixed in a narrow range.

(BE)

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