4/17/2026 Weekly Market Recap

This week's trade was marked by high volatility, particularly in crude oil and cattle, as markets reacted to geopolitical events, supply dynamics, and technical pressures.

Commodities Overview

• Grains: Prices were mostly flat to soft due to favorable U.S. planting progress, robust supplies, and varied weather outlooks.

  • Corn: Nearby May contracts saw slight weekly losses, closing near $4.48/bu after modest daily fluctuations and technical selling.

  • Soybeans: Nearby May traded choppily around $11.6575/bu, ending modestly lower on pressure from Brazilian supplies, despite some support from meal demand.

  • Wheat (Chicago SRW): Nearby May was volatile, settling near $5.8975/bu after initial gains based on drought concerns faded. There is also some added fear from potential frost risk over the weekend

• Cattle: Live and feeder cattle futures initially surged, approaching or hitting contract highs on tight supply fundamentals and strong cash trade. However, profit-taking and pre-report selling caused a sharp decline on Thursday and Friday, leading to lower closes.

  • Live Cattle: Nearby May contracts, which opened sharply higher, closed at $247.15 after Thursday's significant drop ($2–$3.50+).

  • Feeder Cattle:  Feeders spiked lower hitting limit down for a short period of time over rumors of the Mexican border reopening. Brooke Rollins also held a press conference sharing news of a sterile fly facility near the southern border to help work towards eradicating the screwworm threat. Nearby May contracts rallied early before falling to $365 by the close.

• Crude Oil (WTI): Extreme volatility was driven by U.S.-Iran geopolitical tensions. Nearby May contracts initially spiked on fears of a Hormuz Strait disruption but then plummeted to close around $83.51 as tensions eased and the strait remained open.

Key Report

• USDA Cattle on Feed Report: The April 1 data, released today (April 17), was viewed as mostly neutral-to-bullish, reinforcing the tight supply narrative. On-feed inventories were estimated at 99% and actual was also 99%. Cattle placed in March was estimated at 93% and actual was 93%. The estimates for cattle marketed in March were 93% and actual was 94%.

Equity Markets

• S&P 500: The index saw a strong rally, climbing steadily to approximately 7166. It gained roughly 3% for the week, recovering prior losses on optimism for a ceasefire, softer inflation data, and general risk-on sentiment.