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WEEKLY COMMODITY HIGHLIGHTS

Nearby Futures	Weekly Change	Friday's Close	Year Ago
Corn	-0.0150	3.7275	4.1525
Soybeans	-0.0525	9.2125	11.4425
Wheat	-0.0875	4.2950	4.8550
Cattle	+8.12	130.83	121.725
Hogs	-0.60	81.23	82.03
Cotton	-0.40	76.69	62.87
Milk	+0.01	16.52	13.07
Crude Oil	-2.06	47.74	49.17

Grain and soybean futures were down on the week amid an improving Midwest weather outlook and ample world supplies. Corn swung back and forth in choppy trade and remains very much in a sideways range: The last five weekly closes for July corn futures have all been within a 2.5-cent range. However June is often a month of big moves for the corn market, and any such move this year will likely be decided by the weather. Weather forecasts calling for drier conditions in the first half of June in the Midwest weighed on the complex. Wheat futures also retreated with the exception of Minneapolis spring wheat, which rallied to its highest level in nearly a year in the December contract on concerns about dryness in the norther Plains. All of North Dakota was rated "abnormally dry" in the latest weekly U.S. Drought Monitor. Cotton futures were mixed on the week, with July retreating while December gained but remained in a choppy, sideways trajectory. Rice futures rallied to new multi-month highs amid news of an export sale to Iraq and problems with the U.S. long-grain crop. The energy complex remained on the defensive, with both crude oil and natural gas declining.

In the livestock complex, live cattle futures surged to new highs on strong cash trade and futures' discount to cash. Cash trade at $136-37 in the Plains was up at least $4 from most of the prior week's trade, as demand is being fed by extremely strong packer margins. Wholesale beef prices held steady through the holiday shortened week, but we are entering a period of seasonally weaker beef demand. Lean hog futures surged to new contract highs but ended the week on a down note as the market is overbought technically and profit-taking set in. Strong pork demand is the main bullish driver of the market.

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