By: NATHAN STUEDLE
GRAINS:
May corn closed down 1/2 cents and July corn was down 1/4 cents. May soybeans closed up 4 cents and July soybeans were up 3 3/4 cents. May KC wheat closed down 7 3/4 cents, May Chicago wheat was down 2 1/2 cents, May Minneapolis wheat was up 1 1/2 cents.
Friday was a very quiet day for row crop trading, with corn and soybean futures chopping on either side of even in a directionless trade amid a lack of news. Wheat futures moved lower, likely on profit-taking and position squaring heading into the weekend after Thursday's almost 30-cent jump for Kansas City contracts. Updates regarding the conflict in the Persian Gulf have also slowed considerably through this week since the cancellation of planned negotiations in Pakistan early in the week. The latest reports are that President Trump will send negotiators to meet with Iranian officials over the weekend. On this news, crude oil futures declined for the first time this week, though buyers will likely remain vigilant as talks to this point have yielded very little promise for a timely conclusion to the conflict.
LIVESTOCK:
The live cattle complex traded higher into Friday's close as the market has thankfully stumbled into some technical support. Following the market's regression earlier this week, on Thursday, the market seemed to have established a short-term bottom for the time being. And it's pretty impressive that the market has done this while receiving no support from the cash market, as prices have been lower this week. So far this week, Northern dressed deals have a reported range of $385 to mostly $386, $2 lower than the prior week's weighted averages. Southern live trade has been marked at $246, $2 lower than the previous week's weighted averages. At this point, some more clean-up trade could develop in the cash market, but the bulk of the week's trade is likely done with.
And in keeping with alignment to the live cattle market, the feeder cattle contracts were also trading higher. The market's change in direction has thankfully kept the spot May contract above its 40-day moving average, which remains a critical threshold to monitor.
The lean hog complex traded lower into Friday's closing bell as the market seems to be stalling out. Although pork demand may seem stronger today as the carcass price is up $2.63, demand has been choppy this week, and traders need more fundamental support if they're going to successfully trade the contracts any higher.