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WEEKLY COMMODITY HIGHLIGHTS

Nearby Futures	Weekly Change	Friday's Close	Year Ago
Corn	-0.0575	3.7775	3.7475
Soybeans	+0.1175	8.9375	9.0350
Wheat	-0.1600	5.4275	5.0700
Cattle	+0.53	120.33	127.38
Hogs	-1.95	64.30	58.70
Cotton	+0.27	68.41	71.71
Milk	-0.42	17.00	14.56
Crude Oil	+1.72	52.04	54.41

Grain and soybean futures were mixed on the week, continuing mostly in a trendless, sideways fashion typical of the month of February. Large South American crops hang over the complex. The Brazil soybean crop in particular looks to be very large, adding to skepticism over when China will start picking up its purchases of U.S. soybeans in the wake of last month's trade deal. While the deal was signed in January, it only officially takes effect this week, and China's announcement that it was relaxing retaliatory tariffs on dozens of U.S. products is a sign that the government there does seek to meet the terms of the deal. The problem in the near-term is the coronavirus outbreak, as at least a couple thousand new cases are being diagnosed every day. China's economy and commodity demand will take a big hit in this quarter if not beyond. Meanwhile traders are starting to look ahead to the U.S. growing season, and very early on the outlook is not good: rains have caused the worst flooding in decades in the Mid-South, much of the Southeast is saturated and the Midwest appears likely to suffer more flooding this spring.

In the livestock complex, live cattle futures rallied late in the week amid technically driven short-covering, and may have established significant lows. Strong wholesale beef prices late in the week were supportive. Live cattle prices had started the week on a down note, and Plains cash prices fell amid larger showlists. Lean hog futures drifted lower under pressure from renewed demand concerns caused by the coronavirus outbreak. Wholesale pork and cash hog values were weaker. However, there are signs that hog supplies are starting to ease. While concerns about an economic downturn caused by the virus is a potential negative for the livestock complex, so far there's no notable impact on U.S. economic sentiment.

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