Market report for Wednesday May 1, 2013

Global markets are largely unchanged overnight. Chinese manufacturing data for April came in weaker than expected, putting the commodities sector under pressure
 
Crops:
Crops are trading lower across the board, despite forecasts of snow over the next 3 days for the main planting region in the US. There was much debate in Twitter in #corn last night over whether current US Midwest weather conditions would affect US crop prices. The Hightower report speculated that yields would suffer, and are looking at December corn prices to show major support at $5.51 then move to $5.80 and $6.01. Kansas, Iowa and Illinois State Extension agree that the precipitation is adding much needed moisture to the subsoil, and are not immediately concerned that yields will be impacted.
 
Livestock:
According to Agriculture.com, hog prices increased yesterday to the highest level since August 2012 on speculation that demand – which is seeing higher than expected volumes now – will be driven to even higher levels this summer. The demand is reported to be led by China, where consumers have concerns on locally-raised pork.
 
Disclaimer: This commentary is provided for information only and is not intended as advice.