Markets are CLOSED tomorrow for Good Friday

Ahead of the 3-day weekend, CBOT futures closed mixed with wheat providing the lift for itself and corn futures. Wheat rose on concerns about dry soils in the Plains after this week’s rains missed key areas. See the Drought Monitor map below. KC and MGEX wheat traded above key chart resistance, but CBOT wheat did not and even closed well off the day’s highs. So KC and MGEX charts look friendly with CBOT not quite there yet. Corn futures have climbed back to the middle of its long-running sideways trading range. Soybean futures closed lower in old-crop contracts under pressure from the large South American crop and higher in the new-crop.

Cattle futures closed higher with the April contracts up strongly. April LC’s discount to the expected higher cash cattle price and a rising boxed beef market supported futures. Choice carcasses up 1.29 at 255.42; Select up 1.57 at 250.21.

Lean hog futures closed lower except for the nearby April LH contract. Traders were taking profits going into the weekend since the hog and pork markets still aren’t showing potential to improve. Futures are trading at a premium to cash. Deferred futures had a positive week following last Friday’s Hogs & Pigs Report showing a smaller than expected breeding herd.

Corn May +5 386; Jly +4 394; Dec +4 410 Bean May -4 986; Jly -3 991; Nov +1 974 Meal May -5 327; Oct -3 321 Oil +35 3104 Wheat May +8 536; Jly +6 536 (523-43) KC Jly +10 586; MGE +6 600 Oats +7 269 Rice +8 1086

LC Apr +122 16302; Aug +65 14982; Dec +17 15172 FC Apr +175 22037; Aug +62 21855; Oct +75 21670 LH Apr +27 6317; Jun -55 7570; Oct -60 6952 Milk Apr +10 1563; May -3 1559

US$ -.7%

Dow +65 17763 SP +7 2067 NAS +7 4887 Tran -67 8605 VIX -.44 14.67 -2.9%

WTI -54 4955 Brent -187 5523 Gas -6 177 NG +9 270 HO -6 169 Eth unch 157 Gold -7 1201 Slvr -30 1675

2-yr +.005 0.544% 5-yr +.028 1.354% 10yr +.048 1.916% 30yr +.062 2.537%