Corn, soybean markets close lower on Monday

Corn futures closed lower on Monday. Today’s sell off pressure in the corn market is a result of light profit taking and spillover weakness in the soybean market along with falling crude oil prices. Prices traded narrowly between $8.00 and $8.11 most of the session before closing below $8 threshold (September). Although prices are moderately lower than recent highs, bullish fundamentals continue to underpin prices. September closed 5 1/2 cents lower at $7.96 3/4 and December closed 7 3/4 cents lower at $8.00 3/4.

Soybean futures closed lower on Monday. The initial rally in the soybean market was short-lived as price declined well of session highs. During the overnight session, the November contract hit another record high of $17.60, but later pulled back to trade both sides of unchanged today. Prices were pressured by weakness in crude oil markets and forecasts for timely rains across the Midwest this week. September closed 7 3/4 cents lower at $17.32 1/2 while November closed 12 3/4 cents lower at $17.20 1/2.

Wheat futures closed lower on Monday. Similar to the corn market, wheat prices traded narrowly as well today pressured by recent rains across the winter wheat belt and as the U.S. missed out on key wheat purchases, signifying light demand for U.S. wheat. More bearish news that India plans to release portions of its wheat reserves also weighed on prices today. September wheat at CBOT closed 5 1/2 cents lower at $8.62 1/4; KCBT closed 3 ¼ cents lower at $8.73 ¼ ; and MGE closed 5 3/4 cents lower at $9.12 3/4.

Live cattle futures closed moderately lower on Monday. Cattle futures traded mostly lower the entire session on lack of direction in the market and sliding boxed beef prices. Midday beef prices were reported as mixed but well below the previous weeks surge in prices. Traders believe retailers secured enough beef products to adequately fill shelves before the Labor Day holiday. Cash trade is currently undeveloped with uncertainty surrounding prices for the current week. October closed 97 cents lower at $123.50 while December closed $62 cents lower at $127.27.

Lean hog futures closed higher on Monday. Hog futures bucked pressure from plentiful pork supply and weakness in the cash market. Nearby contracts traded higher early on in the session with moderate discounts to deferred contracts. However, buying interest also picked up across the 2013 contract as corn prices pulled back. Nonetheless, the market is expected to remain under pressure on short term bearish fundamentals. Large hog supplies will continue to weigh on futures along with lower cash prices. Hog slaughter totaled 2.2 million head last week, the largest on record for 2012 thus far. October closed 87 cents higher at $73.25 while December closed 47 cents higher at $71.00.