|
 WEEKLY COMMODITY HIGHLIGHTS
Nearby
Futures | Weekly
Change | Friday's
Close | Year
Ago |
| Corn | -0.0975 | 4.4550 | 4.3675 |
| Soybeans | -0.1100 | 9.9925 | 11.9875 |
| Wheat | +0.1200 | 5.4575 | 5.2850 |
| Cattle | +2.90 | 203.18 | 187.25 |
| Hogs | -0.725 | 86.625 | 86.925 |
| Cotton | +2.61 | 67.37 | 93.94 |
| Milk | +0.18 | 18.54 | 16.43 |
| Crude Oil | +0.14 | 67.18 | 81.04 |
|
Corn and soybean futures were down on the week, pressured by the ongoing talk of tariffs as trade war rhetoric continues to fly back and forth between the U.S. and three key ag commodity customers: Mexico, Canada and China. Meanwhile, for corn a sizeable increase in U.S. corn plantings is still likely this spring and while conditions are too dry in key parts of the Corn Belt right now, it's too early for the market to be very worried about drought. While corn slumped into the end of the week, soybeans ended on a solid note, and as traders start looking ahead to the Prospective Plantings report at the end of the month, the expectation is that soybean acreage will decline. Wheat futures were firm, amid technical buying and short-covering, with fundamental support from the intense winds and dust storms that blew across the Plains, exacerbating dryness concerns in the region. Cotton futures rallied amid short-covering and bottom-picking, with expectations of lower U.S. acreage this spring providing support. The stock market was under pressure from tariff concerns, as more investors conclude that tariff threats are more than just a negotiating tactic from the White House.
In the livestock complex, it was a strong week for live cattle and feeder cattle futures, which found support from strong cash markets and seasonal strength in wholesale beef prices. Traders largely ignored weakness in U.S. stock markets, as weaker-than-expected February inflation helped limit economic concerns. Plains cash cattle trade was very slow to emerge this week, but it is clear that packers have regained the upper hand. Hog futures spent the first three days of the week consolidating, supported by firm cash hog markets. However, volatility in wholesale pork prices and disappointing weekly pork export sales triggered a sell-off in prices Thursday into Friday morning.
Click on the Brock logo or call 1-800-558-3431 for more info on our services. |
|
