Market Update

As the market closed, March corn closed down by 5¾ cents, settling at $4.40 per bushel.

January soybeans experienced a drop of 16¾ cents, bringing the price to $10.76¾ per bushel.

“There was a lot of selling pressure in the commodities market, and trading remained weak,” remarked Jamie Kohake, a senior risk manager at Pinion. “We did manage to export some corn and beans overnight, but improved growing conditions in South America have made the wax crop unsustainable.”

In wheat, March CBOT wheat decreased by 4¼ cents, landing at $5.29¼ per bushel. March Kansas City wheat fell 4 cents to $5.18 per bushel, while March Minneapolis wheat dropped by 2¼ cents to $5.94¼ per bushel.

For livestock, February live cattle saw a decrease of $1.40, settling at $229.55 per hundredweight (cwt). January feed cattle dropped $4.30 to $339.10 per cwt, but February lean hogs saw a rise of 35 cents, ending at $84.52 per cwt.

As of 3:08 p.m. PT, January crude oil was down 15 cents to $57.45 a barrel.

The S&P 500 Index dipped by 79.02 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 251.28 points.

The US dollar index saw a rise of 61 points throughout December.

Grain Market Insights

Grain Markets Start Soft: 9:33 a.m. CT

Right before 9:30 a.m. PT, March corn was down 1.5 cents at $4.45 per bushel.

January soybeans slipped by 15¾ cents, marking $10.77¾ per bushel.

“The market is facing minimal negative pressure; rather, it’s a lack of support,” noted Karl Setzer, a partner at Consus Ag Consulting. “Soybeans are taking the brunt of the losses due to concerns about rising product levels. Interestingly, while export demand remains robust, unstable weather conditions in South America are complicating the situation. Some areas in Brazil are stressed, while others are experiencing favorable growing conditions. With new soybean exports from Brazil starting next month, this spells trouble for the soybean market.”

In wheat, March CBOT wheat dropped 2 cents to $5.31 per bushel. March Kansas City wheat decreased by 1 cent to $5.21¼ per bushel, with March Minneapolis wheat also dropping 2 cents to $5.94 per bushel.

February live cattle fell 15 cents, settling at $230.80 per cwt. January feed cattle were down 40 cents to $343 per cwt, while February lean hogs rose 72 cents to $84.90 per cwt.

At 9:22 a.m. PT, January crude oil fell by 24 cents to $57.36 per barrel.

The S&P 500 Index decreased by 28.18 points, whereas the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 101.74 points.

In December, the US dollar index rose by 36 points.