In the News

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WEEKLY COMMODITY HIGHLIGHTS

Nearby Futures	Weekly Change	Friday's Close	Year Ago
Corn	+0.0350	4.0600	3.6925
Soybeans	+0.4300	10.4150	9.3950
Wheat	+0.2475	5.4300	4.3075
Cattle	+2.25	104.65	123.925
Hogs	-0.50	74.20	80.95
Cotton	+2.66	89.21	77.16
Milk	+0.01	15.67	15.61
Crude Oil	-3.49	67.88	48.90

The grains complex got off to a fast start on the week, propelled by news of a potential thawing of U.S.-China trade relations. Both countries said they were putting tariff plans on the backburner for now, and the White House said China was planning to increase its buying of U.S. ag products. There's still plenty of uncertainty on trade, but the news was enough to send soybean prices in particular surging. Gains in corn were quite small by comparison, as it is less likely China would boost its corn purchases. Corn and soybeans were also underpinned by heat and dryness in the Midwest, which is enough to create some unease about U.S. crop potential but not yet a cause of major crop stress. Wheat futures rallied on continued head and dryness in the southern Plains, along with concern about crops in other locations including the Canadian prairies, Australia and Russia. Cotton futures also surged, hitting a new contract high and a four-year high on a front-month basis, on severe drought in West Texas and concern about Asian crops. Rice futures plummeted amid weak export demand and benign conditions in the Mid-South. Crude oil also tumbled, on news that Saudi Arabia and Russia plan to relax caps on production.

In the livestock complex, live cattle rebounded from the prior week's massacre amid optimism on trade with China. Position evening ahead of the monthly Cattle on Feed report also boosted prices, while gains were limited by large fed cattle supplies and weaker Plains cash prices. The Cattle on Feed report was in line with expectations, showing April feedlot placements at 91.7% of a year ago while feedlot inventory was at 105.1% of a year ago. Lean hog futures started the week under pressure and made new six-week lows in some contracts.

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