In the News

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WEEKLY COMMODITY HIGHLIGHTS

Nearby Futures	Weekly Change	Friday's Close	Year Ago
Corn	+0.3725	4.5300	3.6300
Soybeans	+0.4050	8.9675	9.2725
Wheat	+0.3400	5.3850	5.0150
Cattle	+0.98	104.28	101.875
Hogs	-2.00	81.35	81.63
Cotton	+0.35	65.94	93.41
Milk	+0.20	16.84	15.56
Crude Oil	-1.48	52.51	63.36

Grain and soybean bulls flexed their muscles, driving the markets to new highs on declining crop expectations and the growing recognition of vast losses across the Midwest. Corn made a five-year high on a front-month basis. Traders were expecting a reduction in the 2019 corn crop by USDA in Tuesday's Supply and Demand report, but the cut was even greater than expected, with USDA not only slashing yield, but reducing its planted acreage estimate by 3 million. It is highly unusual for USDA to cut acreage in June, and many traders believe acreage will ultimately be cut further. Traders are also increasingly expecting a large reduction in soybean acres as well, as the relentlessly wet weather that prevented corn plantings is now keeping soybeans from going in the ground. Wheat futures also rallied, pulled higher mainly by corn, although the excessive rain this spring is also a problem for hard red and soft red winter wheat production. The supply concerns across the complex are overshadowing demand, which is lackluster. There's no progress in U.S.-China trade talks to indicate a pickup in its imports of U.S. commodities any time soon. Signs of a weakening global economy are another negative factor, and weighed on crude oil in particular last week.

In the livestock complex, live cattle futures started the week strong and climbed to its highest level in a couple of weeks, before ending the week moderately higher. Cash cattle trade was subdued during the week. Fed cattle supplies are likely to remain adequate to meet demand in the near-term. Beef packer margins remain robust. Lean hog futures started the week strong but ended on the defensive, with some contracts making new multi-month lows. Ample supplies of heavyweight hogs, weak packer margins and uncertainty about Chinese demand for U.S. pork were negative market factors.

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