By: NATHAN STUEDLE
GRAINS:
March corn closed up 1/2 cent and May corn was up 1/4 cent. March soybeans closed down 4 1/4 cents and May soybeans were down 3 3/4 cents. March KC wheat closed down 11 1/2 cents, March Chicago wheat was down 3 3/4 cents, March Minneapolis wheat was down 5 3/4 cents.
It was an overall mixed to lower session in row-crop futures to close the week, with corn showing resilience to trade marginally higher, while soybeans and wheat futures fell as traders looked to square positions ahead of a long weekend, with markets closed on Monday for Presidents Day. Overall, for the week it was positive price action for U.S. grain markets as prices made technical strides as well in holding chart support. Outside markets for Friday traded primarily in reaction to a cooler than expected inflation reading via the Consumer Price Index, which declined to 2.4% annual price growth, the lowest since early 2021. This was a source of pressure to commodities early on Friday, while also fueling recovery efforts in equities after a two-day selloff through the middle of the week. The U.S. Dollar Index was lower on perceived lower interest rates (as a result of lower inflation), while crude oil and other energy markets recovered from daily lows in an otherwise narrow session to close the week.
LIVESTOCK:
The live cattle complex drifted only slightly lower as traders try to remain patient, waiting for cash cattle to trade. It's fully assumed prices will be higher late on Friday when trade develops, but the real question is: How much higher? A single bid was on the table in Nebraska at $238, but otherwise no news has developed as of this writing. Asking prices remain firm in Texas at $245 to $247, but aren't clearly established elsewhere. Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice down $0.45 ($364.39) and select up $0.26 ($363.29) with a movement of 30 loads (24.05 loads of choice, 2.18 loads of select, zero loads of trim and 3.48 loads of ground beef).
Keeping in alignment with the live cattle contracts, the feeder cattle complex traded mixed to slightly lower as well. Demand has mostly higher this week in the countryside for both feeders and calves, but there has been notable interest in the heavier weight feeders that will make grass cattle in a few months.
In keeping with its lower trend, the lean hog complex continued to lose position as the market anticipates more supply to be working its way into the system, which causes traders some fear that pork cutout values could weaken. Not to mention, just a little over a week ago the market did reach new all-time highs in the futures complex which put heavy pressure on the market's technical side.