Soybeans up 6¢. Tuesday, April 2, 2024

May corn is down 2¢ this morning.

May soybeans are up 6½¢.

CBOT wheat is up a penny. KC wheat is down a penny. Minneapolis wheat is up 1¼¢.

This year’s winter wheat crop is in better condition for this point in the year than it has been the past five years, says Matt Zeller, senior market intelligence analyst for StoneX.

“Fifty-six percent of the crop was rated good or excellent, up from 50% good/excellent in the last fall report, double last year’s figure, and tied for the second-best of the last 12 seasons,” he says.

Crude oil is up 97¢ this morning and is currently below $85 a barrel.

“WTI crude oil pushed above the $85 per barrel mark this morning for the first time since October; a missile strike in Syria was the latest piece of news to push … crude higher yesterday, and Ukrainian drones hit Russia’s third-largest refiner this morning,” says Zeller. “Geopolitical premium continues to build along with the ongoing support from OPEC+ supply cuts, and the group is expected to re-affirm their policy in a review meeting scheduled for tomorrow. U.S. national average gas prices are up 16¢ from a month ago and are threatening to put a dent into consumer spending readings and hit corresponding stocks tied to them, as we head into the summer months.”

Live cattle are up $1.23. Feeder cattle are up $1.48. Lean hogs are up 3¢.

“At about noon on Monday, the news broke that a man in Texas had been infected with Bird Flu after he had been in contact with cattle,” says Al Kluis, managing director of Kluis Commodity Advisors. “This bombed the cattle market and was also viewed as negative (at least in the short term) for the grain markets as well.”

S&P 500 futures are down 52 points. Dow futures are down 472 points.

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