In the News

The Agri Marketing team wishes you and yours the happiest of Holiday seasons. This Agri Marketing Update e-newsletter will be distributed only once next week.

WEEKLY COMMODITY HIGHLIGHTS

Nearby Futures	Weekly Change	Friday's Close	Year Ago
Corn	+0.1325	6.6625	6.0575
Soybeans	+0.0075	14.8450	13.4075
Wheat	+0.2250	7.7600	8.1475
Cattle	+1.97	157.75	139.63
Hogs	+2.05	87.83	83.23
Cotton	+3.29	85.21	109.12
Milk	+0.22	19.46	19.49
Crude Oil	+5.10	79.56	73.79

Grain and oilseed futures were mostly higher on the week ahead of the Christmas holiday. Corn was bolstered by some fresh export demand from Mexico and from concern about yields in Argentina and southern Brazil due to dryness. While Argentina has received some rain recently, it is not enough to alleviate drought concerns. These same issues are supportive for soybeans. However, the crop outlook for Brazil remains very strong. Soybean market action has continued to be very choppy. Good demand from U.S. domestic soy processors should remain a supportive market factor with crush margins remaining favorable and demand for renewable diesel fuel continuing to grow strongly. Meanwhile, there are hopes China's overall demand for soybean imports will rise in 2023 as its stocks of imported soybeans and its soymeal stocks remain tight. Wheat was bolstered by the blizzard and brutal Arctic conditions that gripped the Plains and the Midwest, fueling concern about winterkill for hard red winter wheat in particular. Cotton futures rallied, posting strong gains on the week despite continued abysmal export sales. Net export commitments for the current marketing year for cotton are actually lower than they were in early November.

In outside markets, crude oil surged and the energy complex in general got a boost from the bitter cold. However, extended forecasts show above-average temperatures into early January. Livestock futures were underpinned through the week by the bitter cold in the Midwest and Plains, as traders awaited key USDA reports on Friday. For hogs, the news from the quarterly Hogs and Pigs report was that liquidation of the U.S. sow herd has apparently ended. The monthly Cattle on Feed report pegged the Dec. 1 feedlot inventory at 97.4% of a year earlier, just above trade expectations. Beef packer margins have jumped back into positive territory.

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