Livestock Futures Rebound as Grains Weaken, With Wheat Back in the Red

Overview

• Live cattle jumped $3.60 to $4.00 and feeders rose $6.00 to $6.85 at midday Wednesday, with boxed beef higher and no new cash trade reported after Fed Cattle Exchange bids peaked at $238 without sales.
• Hog futures rallied $1.50 to $1.75, the CME Lean Hog Index edged to $89.84, and the pork cutout held near $99, though USDA’s morning national base price was not posted due to light volume.
• Wheat fell across Chicago, KC, and Minneapolis contracts despite recent tender interest, as Kansas ratings dipped to 58% good/excellent and weekly export shipments totaled 344,272 metric tons.
• Corn slipped 2 to 4 cents even after USDA confirmed private sales of 196,000 metric tons Tuesday and 125,000 metric tons Wednesday to unknown buyers, while EIA reported ethanol output down to 1.095 million barrels per day.
• Soybeans were little changed, with January crush at 227.8 million bushels topping estimates and front-month soybean oil firmer, as traders awaited Thursday’s USDA export sales update.