Lean hogs finish mostly lower again, reflecting the continuing slide in pork prices, which reached a fresh 14-month low Tuesday. April lean hogs gained 2 to finish at $84.97, the May contract finished unchanged at $93.67.
U.S. live-cattle futures finished modestly higher Wednesday, ending a five-day selloff as processors moved more aggressively to buy cattle in cash markets. April live cattle closed up 42 at $124, April feeders gained 62 to close at $153.
US wheat futures end lower on favorable crop weather and ample supplies. Rain and warm weather across the Plains seen as benefiting both the winter and spring wheat crops, analysts say. May wheat in Chicago ended down 6 1/4 to $6.36; May wheat in KC closed down 5 1/2 to $6.75.
US corn futures end lower as the market was pressured by favorable spring weather and technical. May corn ended down 5 1/2 at $6.42.
US soybean futures end higher, rebounding from declines seen so far this week. May soybeans ended up 10 at $13.55 while May soy meal rose $4.20 to $369.80 and May soy oil gained 5 to 54.38.
ICE cotton futures finish in the green, but shed some of their midday gains. May cotton gained 41 to close at 88.31, the July contract gained 36 to finish at 89.08.
Gold futures settled higher Wednesday, though the precious metal struggled to make gains in the face of a stronger equities market and amid caution surrounding Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's remarks to Congress. April gold rose $3.30 to $1,650.30, April silver gained 39 to $32.06.
Crude oil futures prices moved higher Wednesday after weekly government data showed a surprise drop in U.S. oil inventories. May crude gained $1.20 to $107.27 a barrel, April gasoline fell a fraction to $3.35 a gallon, and April distillates dropped 2.05 cents to $3.21 a gallon.
Natural-gas futures traded lower Wednesday, as traders looked ahead to a government report expected to show the first increase in gas inventories of the year, amid weak demand. April Natural gas fell a fraction to $2.32.
Wall Street is showing signs of fatigue after a long run-up. That became more evident on Wednesday as Stocks struggled to rise above recent highs, hampered by losses in risk-associated sectors like energy and financials. The Dow lost 45 to close at 13,124, the Nasdaq closed at 3,075, up 1 and the S&P 500 fell 2 2/3 to close at 1,402.
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