In the News

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WEEKLY COMMODITY HIGHLIGHTS

Nearby Futures	Weekly Change	Friday's Close	Year Ago
Corn	+0.0125	3.4000	3.1100
Soybeans	+0.0300	9.4200	9.5900
Wheat	+0.1100	4.2050	3.6825
Cattle	-1.77	105.15	103.575
Hogs	-1.63	61.45	63.33
Cotton	+3.94	72.55	68.01
Milk	-0.51	16.13	16.77
Crude Oil	-0.58	47.29	43.16

Grain and soybean futures were up slightly on the week, snapping back sharply on Thursday after slumping throughout the week. Corn made new contract lows on Thursday before rebounding and posting bullish reversals on the daily charts. A “flush” of old-crop corn sales in August appeared to put a bottom in the market. However the upside, both for corn and soybeans, is limited by private crop expectations that have been rising to meet USDA's bearish August crop report. Soybeans, and especially cotton and rice, were supported by Hurricane Harvey, which decimated the Texas and Louisiana coasts. Its remnants also dumped several inches of rain further north in the Delta, feeding concern about the harvest and crop quality. Cotton futures made a new 2 1/2-month high on Friday as traders tried to gauge the extent of the damage from Harvey. Traders are now monitoring Hurricane Irma, which may possibly strike the Carolinas, although any impact is still several days out. Rice futures made new contract highs, and a two-year high on a front-month basis. The storm sent gasoline futures soaring as roughly 25% of U.S. refinery capacity was shut down, curtailing supply. Crude oil futures remained stagnant however.

In the livestock complex, live cattle futures started the week rallying to two-week highs, in part on concern about cattle losses in Harvey-related Texas flooding, but the market quickly retreated from there as the trade turned its attention to the cash market. Cash trade of $104-05 was down $2-3 from the bulk of the prior week's trade, heading into a holiday-shortened slaughter week. Technically, futures remain in a downtrend. Lean hog futures made multi-month lows early in the week but then rebounded with help from month-end positioning and futures' wide discount to cash. Wholesale pork values remain a negative factor, but the seasonal collapse in pork bellies may be close to running its course.

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