Corn closes down a penny | Friday, December 8, 2023

March corn ended the day down 1¼¢.

January soybeans are down 5½¢.

CBOT wheat is down 10¢. KC wheat is down 5¼¢. Minneapolis wheat is down 7¾¢.

Live cattle are up $3.28. Lean hogs are up 98¢. Feeder cattle are up $5.13.

Crude oil is up $1.83.

S&P 500 futures are up 25 points. Dow futures are up 168 points.

Published: 2:51 p.m. CST

Grains in the red at midday: 12:26 p.m. CST

March corn is currently down 2½¢.

January soybeans are down 9½¢.

CBOT wheat is down 9¾¢. KC wheat is down 5½¢. Minneapolis wheat is down 5¼¢.

"This was expected to be a relatively quiet report, and for the most part, it was," says Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist for StoneX. "USDA doesn't make any more adjustments to U.S. crop sizes in its December report, choosing to wait until the 'final' numbers come out in January. That puts the focus on potential changes to the South American corn and soybean crops, and any potential implications for U.S. export demand.

"USDA typically doesn't like to make changes to Argentine or Brazilian production estimates this early in their growing season, but the possibility of a change this year due to adverse weather in Brazil had the trade focused on that sector. USDA cut Brazil's soybean crop by 2 million to 161 MMT, while not touching its corn crop, nor did it change the Argentine corn or soybean production estimates.

"The agency increased U.S. corn and wheat exports by 25 million bushels each, making corresponding cuts to their ending stocks, while leaving its domestic soybean balance unchanged. This is a typical December report, letting traders focus on Brazil weather and projections for next year's U.S. crops."

Live cattle are up $2.88. Lean hogs are up 83¢. Feeder cattle are up $5.05.

Crude oil is up $1.38.

The U.S. Dollar Index March contract is up to 103.65.

S&P 500 futures are up 11 points. Dow futures are up 87 points.

Published: 12:26 p.m. CST

Grains mostly up ahead of WASDE: 9:13 a.m. CST

March corn is currently up 3¢.

January soybeans are up 14½¢.

CBOT wheat is down 3¼¢. KC wheat is up 6¢. Minneapolis wheat is up 2¢.

This morning USDA announced three new export sales for the 2023/2024 marketing year:

• 136,000 metric tons of soybeans to China
• 110,000 metric tons of soft red winter wheat to China
• 165,000 metric tons of corn to unknown destinations

Later this morning the December World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report is expected from USDA.

"Traders are not expecting much of a change to the U.S. production numbers in the USDA report today," says Bob Linneman, commodities broker with Kluis Commodity Advisors. "The spotlight will be on South American production, since the weather over the last two months has not been ideal."

Live cattle are up 48¢. Lean hogs are up 5¢. Feeder cattle are up 53¢.

Crude oil is up $1.27.

S&P 500 futures are up 8 points. Dow futures are up 60 points.

Published: 9:13 a.m. CST