Nearby
Futures | Weekly
Change | Friday's
Close | Year
Ago |
| Corn | + .02 ½ | 3.82 ¼ | 3.74 |
| Soybeans | - .11 ¾ | 8.83 ¾ | 10.24 ¼ |
| Wheat | + .31 ½ | 5.22 | 5.36 |
| Cattle | - 1.68 | 141.73 | 170.50 |
| Hogs | - 4.40 | 59.20 | 87.20 |
| Cotton | + 0.56 | 63.32 | 64.50 |
| Milk | - 0.06 | 15.43 | 23.79 |
| Crude Oil | + 1.99 | 46.59 | 81.12 |
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Comments: Wheat grabbed the headlines in the grains complex, surging to a three-month high in Chicago and posting its biggest weekly gain in four months.
The action was driven largely by short-covering following a CFTC report showing large speculators were holding a larger-than-assumed short position.
Soybeans sagged amid technical selling, strong U.S.
yields and an improving weather outlook for South America.
Brazil in particular has seen some badly needed rains in recent days.
Corn continued to lack much direction and was pressured by weak export demand—sales for 2015-16 are down more than 30% from a year ago, whereas USDA has forecast exports to be flat.
Wheat export demand has also been poor.
Soybean export demand has been much better, as sales, while well behind year-ago levels, are improving, and actual shipments are above year-ago levels.
Cotton futures were up on the week mainly due to a rally on Friday, while rice futures tumbled to their lowest level in two months amid technical selling.
In the energy complex, natural gas extended its slide to new 3 1/2-year lows, while crude oil rebounded, putting to rest for now expectations that market would test bear-market lows from earlier in the year.
Lean hog futures plunged amid pressure from weaker wholesale pork prices.
December futures fell to a two-month low while February futures set a new contract low.
The pork carcass cutout value tumbled, dropping 9.1% on the week.
This was driven largely by prices for pork bellies, which fell more than $27 just on Thursday and Friday, and which fell 20.1% on the week.
In addition to excess supplies, the news that the World Health Organization labeled processed meat as a carcinogen weighed on the complex.
Live cattle futures were also weaker amid volatile price action.
There were mixed fundamental and technical signals for the market.
Cash trade emerged early in the week at $138 in Texas and Kansas, at the high end of trade expectations, but there was no follow-up trade, and weak packer margins have clouded the outlook for this week.
Wholesale beef prices were up slightly on the week.
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