Corn up a penny. Wednesday, December 20, 2023

This morning March corn is up 1¼¢.

January soybeans are up 2¼¢.

CBOT wheat is down 1½¢. KC wheat is down 3¾¢. Minneapolis wheat is down 5¢.

“Tensions remain high in the Middle East, with the leader of Hamas making a visit to Egypt, seeking help in negotiating another ceasefire,” says Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist for StoneX. “But the commodity markets are primarily focused on Houthi Rebel attacks on civilian ships in the Red Sea, as this Iran-backed group demonstrates its support for Hamas in the Gaza Strip. A number of shipping companies are choosing to avoid travel through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea until their safety can be guaranteed, and that’s not likely to happen for some time.”

He says the U.S. is working to build a coalition to secure the area but many nations don’t want to engage the Houthis.

“Rerouting cargoes around the southern tip of Africa does not create a shortage of commodities or goods long-term,” he says. “It does lengthen transit times, while adding to transit expenses as well. As such, it creates a short-term tightening of supplies, which [will] eventually even out as the supply chain adjusts to the longer transit times. However, it does increase the costs of the commodities and goods that are delivered. That adds an element to inflationary pressures, while also increasing uncertainty in the supply chains.

Livestock are mixed this morning. Live cattle are flat. Feeder cattle are up 43¢. Lean hogs are down 10¢.

Crude oil is up $1.09.

S&P 500 futures are up 2 points. Dow futures are down 51 points.

Tags: corn, soybeans, wheat, futures, live cattle, feeder cattle, lean hogs