In the News

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WEEKLY COMMODITY HIGHLIGHTS

Nearby Futures	Weekly Change	Friday's Close	Year Ago
Corn	+0.0050	3.5850	3.5800
Soybeans	+0.5650	10.4250	8.9900
Wheat	+0.0275	4.2600	4.7800
Cattle	+3.70	118.53	132.10
Hogs	+1.62	65.60	61.63
Cotton	-1.72	72.27	62.14
Milk	+0.17	16.79	13.74
Crude Oil	-1.62	52.37	30.48

Soybean futures were the story of the week, soaring to multi-week highs on technical buying, a friendly USDA report and uncertainty about production in Argentina. USDA lowered its U.S. soybean carryout estimate in its monthly Supply and Demand report as it cut its 2016 yield estimate. Meanwhile excessive rains in central Argentina have fed concerns about the crop there. The corn market however did not follow soybeans, and remain solidly locked in a sideways trading pattern, which could persist until March when the focus on 2017 U.S. acreage will intensify. USDA's Supply and Demand revisions for corn were mostly neutral. Wheat futures were up, buoyed by a much-bigger-than-expected drop in winter wheat seedings, particularly for hard red winter. Gains in wheat were limited however by a winter storm that dumped multiple inches of moisture on parts of the central and southern Plains that have been in drought. Cotton fut ures fell on a bearish USDA report that raised production estimates for the U.S. and China. Rice futures surged on a bullish USDA report that cut estimated 2016 production in Arkansas, Texas and California. In the energy complex, crude oil futures fell but remain in a $50-$55 range.

In the livestock complex, live cattle futures surged on optimism about the week's cash trade and the Plains' winter storm, which was poised to stress cattle. The market rallied, with June setting a 6 ½-month high, despite sharply lower wholesale beef prices on the week. Packer margins turned negative. Tight fed cattle supplies supported prices. Lean hog futures also gained, driven by strength in the cash market and firm wholesale pork values. While pork packer margins have slipped, they remain strong enough to encourage good demand, and plants resuming normal, full schedules following the holidays also encouraged hog demand.

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