In the News

The next issue of Agri Marketing magazine will include focus reports on the Canadian Ag Market plus Digital Media Update. To schedule your ad contact Audrey Evans at AudreyE@AgriMarketing.com or phone 515-984-8589.

WEEKLY COMMODITY HIGHLIGHTS

Nearby Futures	Weekly Change	Friday's Close	Year Ago
Corn	- 0.01 3/4	3.57	3.94 1/4
Soybeans	+ 0.08 1/4	8.79 1/2	10.45
Wheat	+ 0.08 1/2	4.78 1/2	5.67
Cattle	-3.93	132.88	163.60
Hogs	-0.05	59.85	78.17
Cotton	-1.88	61.40	60.56
Milk	+ 0.12	13.68	16.00
Crude Oil	-3.88	33.16	48.79

The new year got off to a shaky start in financial markets, but the grains complex held firm as traders awaited potentially big Jan. 12 USDA reports. Wheat was the best performer , driven by technically driven short-covering as the market posted two daily reversals higher and a weekly reversal higher on the chart. Soybeans also gained, but remain in a tight trading range. South American weather remains favorable and has improved recently in Brazil, limiting concern about corn and soybean yield losses there. Corn was down slightly on the week. Speculators are holding historically large short positions in corn, wheat and beans, creating the potential for a strong short-covering rally when the market starts to turn. However for now export demand is lackluster and there are few supply threats around the world to drive prices. Cotton futures tumbled to a three-month low, driven by a plummeting Chinese stock market that reinforces concerns about its import demand. The China situation also helped send U.S. equities lower along with crude oil, which fell through its 2008 bear-market lows to its lowest level since 2003. Weekly gasoline demand plunged, which a dded pressure to crude oil and was also a negative sign for the ethanol industry, which saw its biggest one-week increase in ethanol stocks in a year.

Growing concerns about the economy also pressured the livestock complex, particularly cattle. Live cattle futures fell sharply amid profit-taking after recent gains and weaker cash cattle trade. Even as futures tumbled, wholesale beef prices surged, with USDA's Boxed Beef report showing both Choice and Select gaining about $20 on the week. Lean hog futures chopped around during the week and ended narrowly mixed. Firming cash prices and expectations that hog supplies will contract seasonally underpinned the market, while the drop in cattle and economic concerns weighed.
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