In the News

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WEEKLY COMMODITY HIGHLIGHTS

Nearby Futures	Weekly Change	Friday's Close	Year Ago
Corn	-0.0475	3.5950	3.6150
Soybeans	-0.0400	9.4200	9.0450
Wheat	-0.0250	4.2400	4.5700
Cattle	+0.10	120.05	132.425
Hogs	-2.35	63.33	67.13
Cotton	-3.87	73.46	59.03
Milk	-0.23	15.08	13.72
Crude Oil	+1.64	52.24	37.26

Grain and soybean futures were down on the week amid a lack of fresh bullish news. Corn showed no follow-through after rallying on the March 31 Prospective Plantings report, while soybeans remained weak and set new multi-month lows. Technically, soybeans remain oversold on short-term momentum indicators, but still very weak overall. Fundamentally the outlook is not good either for soybeans as Brazil soy crop estimates continue to rise and plantings in the U.S. are expected to jump. The trade is paying closer attention to weather forecasts, and a wet pattern that is expected to persist into late April will cause some planting problems, but as of now it is still too soon to be a major market factor for corn or soybeans. Wheat futures were under pressure from abundant world supplies and favorable weather, particular in the central and southern Plains. Minneapolis spring wheat hit a six-month low. Cotton futures fell th roughout the week amid bear-spreading. Expectations of a big drop in U.S. plantings and softer export demand weighed on the market. Rice futures were the top performer in the grains complex all week, setting a new 2 1/2-month high amid speculative buying, optimism about U.S. exports and an expected drop in U.S. plantings.

In the livestock complex, lean hog futures came under pressure as cash hog prices continued to erode in the face of record hog supplies. Hog supplies are easing seasonally, but should remain comfortable ahead of year-ago levels in the coming weeks. Wholesale pork values were essentially flat on the week, but are down sharply over the past month. Wholesale beef prices have also continued to tumble, with Boxed Beef reports showing Choice and Select both down nearly $7 on the week. Live cattle futures started the week poorly but rebounded from three-week lows on Wednesday, rallying on technical buying and better-than-expected cash prices.

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