July corn closes below $4 | Friday, June 28, 2024

Corn ended the day in the red, with the front month down more than later months. July corn, down 16½¢, closed below $4. December corn is down 13¢ at $4.20¾.

Soybeans also closed in the red. July soybeans are down 1¾¢. November soybeans are down less than a penny.

All three September wheat contracts closed in the red. CBOT wheat is down 6¢. KC wheat is down 10½¢. Minneapolis wheat is down 5¢.

“What a day,” says Phyllis Nystrom, commodity broker with CHS Hedging. “First, the USDA has technical issues, and the report info was delayed. Secondly, corn tanked on higher-than-expected acreage (higher than the highest estimate and the 8th highest since 1944). Then wheat followed corn lower as higher wheat stocks outweighed lower acreage. Soybeans were higher when the report was released and stayed there for 90 minutes before weakening and closing only moderately lower. As the session progressed in post-report trading, losses in corn and wheat were cut and gains in soybeans were erased.

“The one- to five-day [forecast] is slightly drier for the central and northeast Midwest. The six- to 10-day [forecast] is wetter for the southeast and Kansas, and drier in the southern and western Midwest. Now we return our attention to the weather and the July 12 WASDE [World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates] report.”

August live cattle are down $1.03. August feeder cattle are down $1.35. August lean hogs are up $1.40.

August crude oil is currently down 24¢.

September S&P 500 futures are currently down 12 points. September Dow futures are down 19 points.

Published: 4 p.m. CT

Corn, soy & wheat mixed ahead of USDA reports: 9:07 a.m. CT

December corn is down 1¾¢ this morning. September and July corn are also in the red.

November soybeans are down 1¼¢, while July and August soybeans are just barely in the green.

September wheat contracts are mixed: CBOT wheat is down a penny. KC wheat is down 4¢. Minneapolis wheat is up 1¼¢.

“There are several developments around the world that bear watching, with much of today’s focus placed on the USDA’s Acreage and quarterly [Grain] Stocks update scheduled to be released at noon eastern,” says Angie Setzer, partner at Consus Ag Consulting. “Historically speaking, the June report tends to bring with it big surprises, as the margin of error when it comes to crop size and overall supply shrinks, opening the door to big swings in actual available stocks reported versus pre-report estimates.

“Traders are uncertain over what the final acreage figure released by the USDA will look like, with the average trade guess expecting a slight increase in corn acres from March, with plantings up 300,000 acres to 90.4. The average trade estimate has soybean acreage growing by around 250,000 acres from March, up to 86.8 million, with wheat area expected to be slightly higher as well. 

“… While acres tend to catch most of the attention, quarterly stocks have been a wildcard in the past, with large misses seen over the years, especially in corn. With the firmness we have seen in cash and futures spreads, many traders feel we could get smaller than expected stocks figures in today’s report. Many bean traders continue to complain about the lack of available supplies, something that should not necessarily be the case with an ending stocks projection as large as we have currently.” 

August live cattle are up 48¢. August feeder cattle are up 55¢. August lean hogs are down 15¢.

August crude oil is up 9¢.

The U.S. Dollar Index September contract is up to 105.60.

September S&P 500 futures are up 13 points. September Dow futures are up 168 points.

Published: 9:07 a.m. CT