Wheat Leads Week’s Grain Rally as Cotton Jumps on Marketing-Year High Sales

Overview

• Wheat futures closed higher across Chicago, Kansas City and Minneapolis, with NOAA outlooks pointing to a drier HRW belt even as weekly export bookings of 287,974 MT trailed last week and funds cut sizable net shorts.
• Cotton surged 110–150 points after USDA reported 466,253 RB sold for the week of Feb. 12, the largest weekly tally since June 2023, led by Vietnam and Bangladesh despite rising ICE certified stocks.
• Corn added 1–4 cents on strong old‑crop sales of about 1.47 MMT and support from wheat, as the spec fund position stood net short and cash price discovery for crop insurance neared its February finish.
• Soybeans slipped into the close after the Supreme Court limited use of IEEPA for tariffs and the president said he would pursue a 10% blanket tariff for 150 days, even as weekly old‑crop sales improved to 798,216 MT.
• Hog futures extended a multi‑day rally despite a five‑week low in pork export sales, while cattle fell into and after USDA’s Cattle on Feed report showing 11.505 million head on Feb. 1 (down 1.8% y/y), placements down about 4.7% and marketings down 13%, with traders also citing potential disruption risk at JBS’s Greeley plant.