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WEEKLY COMMODITY HIGHLIGHTS

Nearby Futures	Weekly Change	Friday's Close	Year Ago
Corn	-0.1050	4.6075	6.5275
Soybeans	-0.4175	12.5625	14.7075
Wheat	-0.1200	6.1600	7.4675
Cattle	+2.08	170.58	157.35
Hogs	+2.03	70.00	82.53
Cotton	-0.81	80.19	82.58
Milk	-0.20	15.54	18.31
Crude Oil	+2.08	73.73	73.67

Grain and oilseed futures were mostly lower on the week with soybeans leading the way down. Beans fell to a seven-month low on pressure from soft recent exports and mostly benign South American weather. Soybean meal futures also continued to plunge. Corn was dragged lower by the soybeans, making new contract lows with pressure from poor export sales recently. The favorable South American weather is also a negative factor for corn as Brazil's safrinha corn season gets under way. Wheat futures were pressured by soft demand and an improving outlook for hard red winter wheat in the Plains due to recent rains. But the arrival of bitter cold across the U.S. and Europe helped to limit the market's downside. Rice futures made new contract highs amid strong Asian prices and underlying uneasiness about global food security, and while the market fell sharply from those highs, it was still up on the week. The cotton market continues to lack direction, with the upside limited by lousy demand and the downside limited by the prospect of farmers being unenthusiastic about planting cotton this year at current price levels.

Crude oil futures were supported by more signs pointing to a strong U.S. economy and concern about the turmoil in the Middle East, particularly the Red Sea. Lean hog futures posted moderate gains on the week, roaring back Thursday and Friday after plunging sharply to start the new year. Hog supplies still look ample and hog weights have been higher in recent weeks, adding to pork output. Live cattle and feeder cattle futures shot sharply higher on Jan. 2, driven by firm holiday cash trade and technically-driven buying. However, cattle futures then struggled the remainder of the week amid pressure from a collapse in wholesale choice beef prices and packer operating margins and concerns about large market-ready cattle supplies.

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