DTN's Quick Takes

Periodic Updates on the Grains, Livestock Futures Markets

(Illustration by Nick Scalise)
Grains

OMAHA (DTN) -- As we near Wednesday's close, more bull spreading is seen in July contracts of corn and soybeans with first notice day set for Thursday. December corn is down 4 1/4 cents with inconsistent rains expected in the northern U.S. Plains in the six to ten-day period. November soybeans are up 15 1/2 cents. September KC wheat is up 1 3/4 cents. Crude oil and diesel prices remain in uptrends but are easing Wednesday with August crude oil down 68 cents a barrel and August heating oil (ultra low sulfur diesel) down 9.35 cents a gallon. Dow Jones futures are up 48 points. The June U.S. Dollar Index is trading up 0.55 after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell repeated his commitment to keep raising interest rates Wednesday at a conference of European central bankers. Wednesday's NATO meeting pledged ongoing support for Ukraine and invited Finland and Sweden into the alliance.

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Posted 10:40 -- At midmorning Wednesday, corn and wheat are lower, while the soy complex is holding positive gains ahead of Thursday's Acreage and Grain Stocks reports. December corn is down 4 cents. November soybeans are up 9 cents with support from August soybean meal trading up $5.30 and August bean oil trading up 0.68 cent. September KC wheat is down 1 1/2 cents and September Minneapolis wheat is down 4 1/2 cents. Light, isolated showers are seen in the Northern Plains, but the five-day forecast remains mostly dry with high temperatures expected in the western Plains Wednesday. August crude oil is up $0.02 and Dow Jones futures are up 62 points. The U.S. Dollar Index is up 0.43 and August gold is down $4.30.

Posted 09:38 -- Wednesday's weekly report from the U.S. Energy Department included two weeks of data and said ethanol production totaled 1.051 million barrels per day last week, down slightly from 1.060 million barrels per day two weeks earlier. Ethanol inventory fell to 22.7 million barrels, down from 23.2 million barrels two weeks earlier and a bullish sign of demand. December corn is down 3 1/2 cents, but July corn is up 6 1/2 cents. November soybeans are up 10 cents. September KC wheat is up 7 1/4 cents. August crude oil is up $1.97. Dow Jones futures are up 127 points after the U.S. Commerce Department said first-quarter U.S. GDP declined 0.4%, but was still up 3.5% from a year ago, a slight reduction from last month's estimate.

Posted 08:37 -- After Wednesday's 8:30 a.m. CDT open, row crops are mixed ahead of Thursday's Acreage and Grain Stocks reports from USDA, due out at 11 a.m. CDT. December corn is down 4 1/4 cents and November soybeans are up 1/2 cent. September KC wheat is up 13 1/4 cents and September Minneapolis wheat is up 7 3/4 cents, climbing out from under the recent hits of speculative selling. August crude oil is up $1.25 and Dow Jones futures are up 41 points. The U.S. Dollar Index is up 0.25 and August gold is up $11.00. NATO leaders are meeting in Madrid and central bankers are meeting in Portugal.

Livestock

Posted 11:37 -- August live cattle are down $0.30 at $132.425, August feeder cattle are down $0.78 at $171.05, August lean hogs are down $0.18 at $103.65, December corn is down 4 3/4 cents per bushel and July soybean meal is up $8.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 37.62 points. It will be a nail-biting afternoon for the livestock complex as Northern feedlots and packers are going to war over what cattle should trade for this week, and hog producers are anxiously waiting to see what this afternoon's Quarterly report shares. Thus far the South has traded some cattle at $138, and bids are being offered in the North for $148 but no one has jumped at the chance for steady money.

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