Corn May +23 756 (729-65); Jly +18 726; Dec +15 652 (627-53)

Bean May +14 1686 (1661-1702); JLy +16 1659; Nov +18 1492 (1462-98)

  Meal May +9 484 (473-90); Dec +7 430 (418-31)

  Oil  May +53 7468; Dec +79 6445

Wheat May -114 1087 (1080-1221); Jly -65 1045 (1024-1129)

  KC May -49 1066; MGE -29 1055

Oats +22 658

Rice +5 1589

 

LC Apr -167 13590; Jun -150 13245; Aug -97 13465

FC Mar -240 15165; May -412 16180; Aug -345 17567

LH Apr -105 10010; Jun +97 11490; Aug +97 11275

Milk Mar -16 2238; Apr -40 2386; May -45 2380

 

Corn and the soy complex rallied strongly while wheat futures sank. Chicago Wheat opened sharply lower on Wednesday evening, rallied above unchanged late overnight before crashing once the day session resumed at 8:30 am CT. Wheat futures are mostly subject to speculators getting in and out of the market. May Chicago Wheat has traded from 13.63 down to 10.80 the past 3 days – a loss of $2.83. However, it still is over $3.00/bushel higher than a month ago. May Wheat still has an “up gap” to fill at $9.84.

Corn futures initially dropped with wheat at 8:30 a.m. but soon rallied on the surprisingly large weekly export sales report – 84 million bushels, a 2021/22 MYr high. Interestingly, China was absent from the list of buyers. May and December Corn made new contract high CLOSES, not highs. Soybeans posted modest gains but November Soybeans set a new contract high CLOSE. May Soybean Meal made a new contract high and high CLOSE. Soybean and Meal were supported by strong weekly export sales. As expected, China was the largest buyer of soybeans for both 21/22 and 22/23.

Cattle futures closed lower, adding to yesterday’s losses. This morning’s confirmation of 40-year high consumer inflation may have weighed on the market along with the rising corn futures. The latter of which tanked the feeder futures market. April FC are down $17.00/cwt in the past month. Choice beef closed up 1.24 at 253.94 and Select rose 2.58 to 247.37. Beef movement was very light at 106 loads. Light negotiated cash trade remained around $138/cwt live and $220/cwt dressed.

Lean hog futures closed higher in contracts beyond the May LH. Nearby LH futures were pressured by weaker cash hog price and pork values, as well as a disappointing weekly pork export sales report this morning (down 40% week/week). The big drop in Live Cattle futures didn’t help.  FOB Plant Pork ended down 3.54 at 104.20, down from the morning quote of 106.77. Pork movement was very strong at 331 loads.

   The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for February rose 7.9% from a year ago, the highest level since January 1982. Excluding food and energy, core inflation still rose 6.4% -- in line with expectations but the highest since August 1982. Gas, groceries and shelter were the biggest contributors to the CPI gain.  Worker paychecks fell further behind, as inflation-adjusted earnings dropped 0.8% in February, contributing to a 2.6% decline over the past year.

 

US$ +.5% 98.52

Dow -112 33174

SP -18 4260

NAS -126 13130

Tran +179 15322

  VIX -2.22 30.23

 

WTI -285 10585

Brent -198 10916

Gas -14 315

NG +12 465

HO -16 330

Gold +14 2002

Slvr +43 2625

 

2-yr +.024 1.702%

5-yr +.045 1.925%

10yr +.045 1.993%

30yr +.071 2.373%

KY Farm Bureau BEEF EXPO sales results - CLICK HERE

March 15 - Deadline for Several USDA Programs, Crop Insurance

“Across Kentucky” podcast  - Click Here

KENTUCKY CASH GRAIN PRICES – Click Here

KENTUCKY LIVESTOCK AUCTIONS --  Click Here