Sideways Trade Midweek. Thursday, December 18, 2025

Just before 9:30 a.m. CT, March corn was up 3½¢ at $4.44 per bushel.

January soybeans were down 2¾¢ at $10.66 per bushel.

“Futures are trading with slight gains in the overnight session but becoming fractionally mixed,” said Karl Setzer, partner with Consus Ag Consulting. “The market is starved for fresh news and until it receives it, this choppy, sideways trend will continue. Market bulls cannot find enough fresh news to extend longs, and at the same time, market bears cannot find enough to support for additional selling. This is giving us our lethargic, but choppy trade. Positioning for the upcoming holiday breaks and of course year end is amplifying these trade patterns.”

March CBOT wheat was up 4¢ at $5.10¼¢ per bushel. March Kansas City wheat jumped 8¢ at $5.21¼ per bushel. March Minneapolis wheat increased 3¢ at $5.50¼ per bushel.

February live cattle were down $2.17 at $227.37 per hundredweight (cwt). January feeder cattle dropped $3.25 at $333.07 per cwt. February lean hogs were up $1.25 at $84.25 per cwt.

At 9:26 a.m. CT, January crude oil was up 45¢ at $56.26 per barrel.

The S&P 500 Index was up 57.65 points, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 300.32 points.

The December U.S. Dollar Index was up 33 points.

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