**Agricultural Products**
**Protein Meals:** On Tuesday, CBOT soybeans rose, supported by technical buying and rising crude oil prices. Gains were seen in both the May and November contracts. Weather forecasts indicate rainfall in the U.S. Midwest, which may hinder planting progress. Instability in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher, leading to a sharp rise in U.S. soybean oil futures, which also supported soybean futures. Domestically, soybean meal and rapeseed meal futures showed strength with fluctuations. Rising import costs provided support to the market. An increase in live hog prices has improved breeding profits, boosting farmers' willingness to increase feed inputs. While soybean meal feed consumption remains high, inventory levels are also elevated. Amid high supply and demand alongside stable costs, soybean meal is expected to maintain a firm trend with fluctuations. Short-term long positions are recommended.
**Oils and Fats:** On Tuesday, BMD palm oil futures advanced, while U.S. soybean oil and Canadian canola futures continued their upward trend. Indonesia released detailed rules for its B50 biodiesel mandate and indicated it might suspend diesel imports in the future. An official from Indonesia's Energy Ministry stated that, as of April 13, the country had consumed 3.9 million kiloliters of palm oil-based biodiesel. Domestically, the three major vegetable oils saw increased positions and higher prices, with palm oil leading the gains. The resurgence of the biodiesel theme, combined with production reduction expectations due to El Niño, provided strong upward momentum for palm oil. Canola oil also showed strength, buoyed by rising import costs for Canadian canola. Soybean oil performed relatively calmly. The strategy suggests buying oils and selling meals, with an expectation for the soybean-palm oil price spread to widen.
**Live Hogs:** On Tuesday, live hog futures prices fell with increased positions. Following dominant short position increases in the July contract the previous day, both long and short positions in the main July 2607 contract increased, leading to continued downward movement. In the spot market, hog prices weakened in most regions on Monday. After a rapid price increase, terminal acceptance was poor, and the oversupply situation remained unchanged, making sustained price hikes difficult. Currently, the average ex-farm price in Henan is 10.09 yuan/kg, down 0.17 yuan/kg from the previous day. Large farms in the area are offering prices of 10.00-10.40 yuan/kg for 120-130 kg breed hogs; small and medium farms are offering 9.80 yuan/kg for 120-125 kg hogs, with a low of 9.60 yuan/kg; prices for 155-165 kg breed hogs are 10.00-10.20 yuan/kg. Currently, funds are shifting from the May contract to the July contract, resulting in the July contract trading at a premium to spot prices. The industry expects that supply pressures in the spot market have not fully dissipated, maintaining a bearish outlook on supply. Consequently, during the price increase, both long and short positions in the July contract were added. Technically, long positions hold an advantage in the July hog contract. Short-term long positions are advised to hold and observe, while monitoring the alignment between spot and futures performance.
**Eggs:** On Tuesday, the main June 2606 egg futures contract fluctuated during the session, closing up 0.36% at 3,318 yuan/500 kg. In the spot market, data from SCI99 showed the national average egg price was 3.93 yuan/jin yesterday, down 0.07 yuan/jin from the previous day. In production areas, Ningjin pink shell eggs were priced at 3.9 yuan/jin, down 0.1 yuan/jin, while Heishan brown shell eggs were at 3.7 yuan/jin, down 0.1 yuan/jin. In consumption areas, Puxi brown shell eggs were at 4.22 yuan/jin, unchanged, and Guangzhou brown shell eggs were at 4.0 yuan/jin, down 0.1 yuan/jin. Terminal markets are purchasing based on immediate sales needs, with downstream sectors showing low procurement enthusiasm. Following the price drop in production areas, procurement costs for consumption areas decreased, leading to a decline in egg prices. The pattern of relatively ample supply has not yet changed. Until improvements are seen on the supply side, eggs are expected to remain range-bound. Considering the potential for future production capacity to decrease, the bottom of the trading range may gradually rise. Attention should be paid to the impact of new hatches and culling changes on production capacity. For the futures market, monitor fund flows and changes in related commodities.
**Corn:** On Tuesday, corn futures rose with increased positions. Funds shifted from the May contract to the July contract, which saw both higher positions and prices. The weighted aggregate open interest increased, with the July contract's price returning to the highs seen in mid-March. Due to the futures price increase, corn prices in some Northeast production areas were slightly adjusted upward, and inquiries from buyers increased slightly. However, traders in production areas remained generally unwilling to sell at low prices. Market sentiment improved somewhat, leading to price increases at some deep-processing enterprises in the Northeast today. In North China, corn prices remained mostly stable, with only a few enterprises making narrow adjustments. As prices stabilized with a weak bias, traders' willingness to sell recently decreased. However, downstream deep-processing enterprises have sufficient inventories and are purchasing mainly based on demand. Market watchfulness is high, and the North China corn market is expected to continue a consolidating pattern with limited price fluctuations. In consumption areas, corn prices showed narrow fluctuations overall, with widespread cautious procurement sentiment. Due to weak terminal demand and the availability of substitutes, price adjustments in consumption areas are limited. Traders' offers are mostly supported by costs, leading to a continued standoff between buyers and sellers, with downstream sectors replenishing stocks mainly for rigid demand. Overall, rumors of a reduced auction volume for old rice have rekindled bullish sentiment in the spot market. With firm offers in the North China market, corn broke out of its consolidation pattern and moved higher.
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