The grain trade starts Christmas week with moderate strength.

Corn, soybeans, and wheat are higher this morning as the holiday-shortened week begins. Much of the support appears to stem from short covering, with traders squaring up positions ahead of the Christmas break after leaning heavily on the sell side in recent sessions. The upcoming Christmas schedule has regular hours today and tomorrow, a shortened session on Wednesday, a closed session on Thursday, and a full session returning on Friday. President Trump’s announcement declaring both Thursday and Friday as federal holidays may affect some government-related reporting, but it hasn’t changed the market schedule.

Outside of positioning, safe-haven demand is also playing a role. Gold and silver are sharply higher at the start of the week, with silver reaching new record highs. This broader commodities support, driven in part by macroeconomic uncertainties, has spilled over into the ag sector. Crude oil is higher as more Venezuelan oil ships are being diverted and the blockade tightens.

On the fundamental side, little has changed since Friday. Cash markets remain firm, backed by tight U.S. supplies and continued strong export demand. South American weather is mostly favorable, but the growing presence of La Niña signals could still pose risks to the crop cycle. Argentina is turning dry, and Argentine weather is typically why we see a December bean price low ahead of the holidays, followed by a rally into January. Meanwhile, the Black Sea conflict has effectively halted exports from the region, shifting global demand toward U.S. supplies, particularly for wheat and corn. In short, technicals, fund flows, and geopolitical logistics are doing more to drive today’s trade than any shift in fundamental outlooks.

It was a higher week for live and feeder cattle futures into Friday’s close, and a firm start is anticipated this morning. Friday’s COF report is considered slightly friendly to feeder cattle placements but also supportive of live trade, as it confirms tight feedlot availability heading into winter. On Friday, January feeders almost plugged its October gap entirely. This is because the cash feeder index rose $4.41 last week and is comfortably above 350.

Last week’s negotiated live trade had the northern trade at $1.00 higher at $228.00, while sales in Kansas were $ 2.00 higher at $ 230.00. Last week saw a total slaughter of 7000 head and 14,000 fewer than a year ago. That was the last full week of production, which helped push choice box beef values up $4.00 and select higher by $2.00.

February live cattle can continue to push into resistance at 232.00. A close above that value opens the door to a challenge of 237-238. Feeder cattle have March on the continuation chart, which targets 344-348 for technical resistance.