In the News

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WEEKLY COMMODITY HIGHLIGHTS

Nearby Futures	Weekly Change	Friday's Close	Year Ago
Corn	-0.0425	3.6400	3.5975
Soybeans	-0.1900	10.1350	8.6750
Wheat	-0.0975	4.3125	4.4275
Cattle	+5.83	123.75	136.975
Hogs	-2.75	68.03	71.48
Cotton	+1.94	75.42	57.70
Milk	-0.02	16.86	13.81
Crude Oil	+0.26	54.04	32.15

Grain and soybean futures were down on the week, pressured by favorable South American weather and USDA projections showing supplies of corn and soybeans will remain abundant in the next marketing year. Soybeans led the way lower, stumbling for much of the week amid technical pressure before stabilizing on Friday. USDA issued 2017-18 marketing year projections at its annual Ag Outlook Forum, and its forecast for 2017-18 soybean carryout to remain steady at 420 million bushels was mildly supportive versus expectations, although a carryout of that size is far from bullish. USDA's forecast for wheat was a little more friendly for the market, as it sees U.S. carryout dropping 20.5% in 2017-18 to 905 million bushels. However this would still leave wheat stocks-to-use at a comfortable level, and world supplies are also expected to remain abundant. Cotton futures rallied on the week, led by nearby contracts. Cotton's stren gth is being fueled in part by robust export demand, which is overshadowing a large increase in expected U.S. acres. Rice futures ended up slightly after making new contract lows earlier in the week. USDA sees a 40% drop in long-grain rice carryout for 2017-18. Crude oil futures were up slightly, and natural gas continued to tumble.

In the livestock complex, nearby live cattle futures surged to a 13-month high on strong cash trade in the Plains at $124-25, up $4-5 from the prior week. Deferred contracts were also stout for much of the week, but retreated sharply on Friday amid profit-taking ahead of the Cattle on Feed report. That report was neutral versus market expectations, as it showed placements up 11.4% in January. Strong wholesale beef prices supported futures. Lean hog futures were lower as the bubble in pork belly prices burst, and technically futures seem to have made a significant top.

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