Midday corn prices are trading 1 1/2 to 2 3/4 cents higher. Chinese importers booked another 210,000 MT of U.S. corn for 2020/21 delivery. The US national average cash corn price is at a 6 month high. Net corn export sales bookings from the week ending 9/10 were 1.61 MMT (63.4 mbu). New crop corn commitments are at 805.321 mbu, which is the fastest start to the MY on record. Accumulated commitments are 35% of USDA’s forecasted total, compared to the 5-yr average of 25% for this date. NOAA’s recent 5-day QPF shows dryness for most of the CONUS as corn harvest starts to ramp up. France’s corn harvest was 4% complete as of Sept 14. The average domestic price for DDGs in China was 2,193 yuan/MT ($323.97/MT) with some 2,200-2,300 yuan/MT.

--- provided by Brugler Marketing & Management

Ahead of the weekend break, soybean futures are trading with midday gains of 12 1/4 to 14 1/2 cents. Soymeal is adding $4.9 to $5.3/ton to the upside, and bean oil futures are back up 19 to 27 points after yesterday’s correction. Chinese importers booked 132,000 MT of U.S. soybeans for 2020/21 delivery. USDA also announced a 100k MT sale of soymeal to unknown. Speaking of those announcements, USDA has now made them 10 days in a row. US bean export commitments are at 1.188 bbu through the first 10 days of data. That is 56% of USDA’s MY total for bean exports, compared to the 5-yr average of 34%.

--- provided by Brugler Marketing & Management

Friday wheat trading has futures double digits in the black so far. SRW wheat futures are up 1.66% to 2.25% so far. HRW futures are trading with at least 2.56% gains in the front months, and Dec is up 16 1/4. MGE wheat is gaining 7 3/4 to 9 3/4 cents in the front months so far. The 2020/21 US wheat export commitments are at 13.133 MMT (482.5 mbu). That is up 6.8% yr/yr for week 15 of the MY. China announced plans to maintain the existing 9.63 MMT wheat TRQ.

--- provided by Brugler Marketing & Management

Front month cattle futures have midday gains of 50 to 90 cents. Front month feeders are up triple digits with Oct leading the way. The CME Feeder Cattle Index for September 16 was $141.20, back up by another 60 cents. Cash trades for the week have been $103-$105 so far. Dressed sales have been $163-$164 with some higher grades at $165, that is $2-$3 higher than last week. Wholesale boxed beef prices were higher in the AM report. Choice boxes were 57 cents higher and Select boxes got a 60 cent bump. FI cattle slaughter was estimated at 119k head on Thursday, with the week to date at 479,000. That is 8,000 head above Thursday of the same week last year.

--- provided by Brugler Marketing & Management

Through midday for Friday, lean hog futures are firm. Prices are within 12 cents of UNCH for the front months, save a 40 cent drop in October. The CME Lean Hog Index for September 16 was up another $1.42 to $67.84. USDA’s National Average Base Hog price Friday AM fell back $2 to $60.51. USDA’s National Pork Carcass Cutout value was $88.19 in the AM update, up by $1.16. The primal cuts were mostly higher, with picnics down $2.42 and bellies up $6.65. USDA estimates WTD hog slaughter is at 1.940 million head, down 14,000 from the same week last year. Carcass weights are coming in line with year ago.

--- provided by Brugler Marketing & Management

Cotton prices are down 22 to 35 points so far. Damage from hurricane Sally is not yet known, but some reports show seeds sprouting in the open bolls (DTN). From USDA’s Daily Spot Cotton Quotations update, 5,700 bales went for an average 60.24 cents/lb on the 17th. WTD sales through Wednesday on The Seam are 19,221 bales with a wtd ave price of 59.27 cents/lb. The Cotlook A index for Sept 17 was firm at 71.65 cents/lb. The AWP for cotton was raised 1.11 cents for the week to 50.88 cents/lb. That reduced the LDP to 1.12 cents.

--- provided by Brugler Marketing & Management