Corn: December corn futures fell 2 cents to $3.95, nearer the session low and hit a 3.5-year low today. For the week, December corn lost 8 1/4 cents. With corn bears in firm technical command and no solid, early technical clues that a market bottom is close at hand, don’t look for any strong upside price action in corn in the near term.
Soybeans: November soybeans fell 5 3/4 cents to $10.02 1/2, marking a weekly loss of 24 3/4 cents. December soymeal fell $5.70 to $310.40 and is down $14.20 from a week ago, while September soyoil rose 25 points to 42.42 cents and gained 74 points week-over-week. Soybeans extended lower for a fourth straight session to a fresh near-term low despite modest short-covering early on, following confirmation of additional export demand from USDA.
Wheat: December SRW wheat futures rose 4 1/4 cents to $5.65 3/4, near mid-range and hit a two-week high. For the week, December SRW gained 3 1/2 cents. December HRW futures closed up 1 3/4 cents to $5.70 1/2 and nearer the daily low. For the week, December HRW fell 5 3/4 cents. December spring wheat futures rose 3 1/2 cents to $6.08 1/2, which represented a weekly rise of 13 1/2 cents. Winter wheat futures languished at lower price levels again this week, but the recent sideways price action has the bulls hoping it is “basing” that will put in a market bottom.
Cotton: December cotton rose 110 points to 68.34 cents and gained 9 points on the week. December cotton ended the week notably higher, ending the session above the 10-day moving average for the first time since mid-July.
Cattle: Despite widely anticipated cash weakness cattle futures rebounded strongly Friday. Expiring August live cattle jumped $2.20 to $184.25, while most-active October leapt $3.125 to $181.15. The latter marked a weekly decline of 92.5 cents. August feeder futures spiked $4.125 to $246.50, while the September contract surged $4.175 to $241.60. The September contract close represented a weekly dive of $6.55. As was widely expected, cash cattle trading moved significantly lower Thursday, with the five-area average for the day coming in at $190.22.
Hogs: Firming equities seemed to spark renewed confidence in the livestock markets Friday. Expiring August hog futures dipped 22.5 cents to $89.80, while most-active October futures climbed 35 cents to $73.975. That represented a weekly decline of $2.60. As usual, several pork packers gave their workers a floating holiday Monday, causing a sizeable drop in Monday’s slaughter total.