Grains soften as China may take time buying beans.

Corn, soybeans, and wheat are under pressure this morning as both pre-weekend and month-end consolidation appear to be guiding trade. The bullish momentum seen earlier this week following the Chinese trade agreement has tapered off, with traders now waiting for concrete details before adjusting positions further. While the numbers surrounding the deal remain favorable, the market is unlikely to extend gains without confirmed soybean purchases from China. Export interest was evident in the cash markets yesterday, but with the ongoing government shutdown, no flash sales have been officially reported. Concerns are that these trade discussions are not binding. Obviously, if China fails to start buying US beans, Pres. Trump may react by reapplying tariffs.

Meanwhile, Brazil is seeing renewed interest from non-Chinese soybean importers as their offers remain cheaper than U.S. prices. After the announcement, Brazilian FOB offers have crashed and are now 10-$0.50 lower than US Gulf prices, depending on the port. More attention is being paid to Brazilian weather as dry conditions are beginning to develop in key safrinha corn areas, where soil moisture levels are now below average.

Today marks the 31st day of the U.S. government shutdown. If a deal is not reached, SNAP food assistance benefits are set to expire, which adds another layer of concern to the broader economic environment. Additionally, today is first notice day for November contracts, with the most notable impact expected in the soybean complex.

It’s first notice day for November beans and 677 contracts were delivered against November futures with 494 stopped by Dreyfus. This brought about the weakness in the overnight session after deliveries were posted.

After a largely mixed trade of both sides of action for feeder cattle yesterday, October live cattle gained four bucks ahead of the day of expiration, while October feeder cattle closed at $347.27. The cash feeder index on Thursday was down $4.62 at $352.

Negotiated Fed cattle trade had sales in the north similar to earlier in the week, which were at $360, off $9 last week. The South had sales quoted at $235 in Kansas, which was down $4 on the week, while trade Texas was quoted $3 lower at $235.50. Boxed beef had choice off $3.11, while select was lower by $2.27, but both remained higher on the week.

Battle lines have been drawn on December cattle and January feeders. December cattle marked support early this week near 223, but now have resistance battling the last few sessions at 232-233. Jan feeders developed significant support at 320, with 2-day resistance at 338-338.65, but the gap objective is plausible if the lack of Mexican border details develops, which could challenge 345-350.