USDA Reports Reshape Grain and Livestock Trade as Cash Cattle Jump

Overview

• By Tuesday’s close, wheat was mixed with soft red contracts slightly higher while hard red and spring wheat eased, as corn and soybeans spent much of the day lower and hogs and cotton finished little changed to down.
• USDA’s first Crop Progress of the season rated winter wheat 35% good to excellent versus a 42% analyst estimate, showed 7% of the crop headed, and reported corn 3% planted and cotton 5% planted, both near or slightly ahead of average pace.
• Export Inspections from Monday highlighted strong corn movement at 2.002 million metric tons for the week ending April 2, led by Mexico, Japan, and Colombia, lifting marketing‑year shipments to 48.47 MMT, up about 36% from a year ago.
• Wheat shipments totaled 334,106 metric tons in the latest week with Mexico the top destination, a pace that, paired with the weak U.S. crop rating, kept traders cautious on hard red and spring contracts.
• Cash cattle trade surged last week to $245–246 per hundredweight, up $8–10, supporting nearby futures even as feeders slipped Tuesday, and traders now look to Thursday’s WASDE, which a Bloomberg survey suggests will make only minor balance‑sheet tweaks.