12/22/2024 Sunday Market Preview

Fresh news is limited for the grains, so a quiet open is expected. A mostly firmer finish on Friday may produce light follow-through buying if the outside financial market conditions are stable enough. In the Headlines March corn futures finished higher by 4 1/4 cents last week. March beans were down 15 3/4. Chicago wheat dropped 19 1/4 while KC wheat lost 12 1/4. February hog futures were up 32 cents last week while February live cattle gave back $3.62 and January feeders were down $2.05. The government funding can was kicked down the road to March 14 with a bill signed by President Biden on Saturday. Government services were otherwise set to start shutting down on Monday. The extension includes $100 billion for disaster assistance and $10 billion in economic aid for farmers. Part of the cuts to the continuing resolution that Congress ultimately passed included the proposal for year-round E15 ethanol blend allowances in all states. Industry observers suggest that the legislation is favored to resurface next year. Also left up in the air last week were the existing blending credits that are set to expire at the end of the year. All indications were that the Biden…