Corn: March corn futures rose 4 cents to $6.75 and for the week gained an impressive 21 cents. Thursday’s strong gains in corn futures and then follow-through strength and a technically bullish weekly high close on Friday set the table for sustained price gains next week.
Soybeans: March soybeans rose 9 1/4 cents to $15.27 3/4, the highest close since June 17 and a 39 1/4-cent gain for the week, while March soymeal dropped $5.00 to $476.30 and March soyoil fell 19 points to 63.06 cents. Soybeans found stand-alone strength following several updates from USDA on Thursday which included a few bullish surprises.
Wheat: March SRW wheat futures closed up 1 cent at $7.43 3/4 and for the week rose 1/4 cent. March HRW wheat gained 8 3/4 cents to $8.43 3/4 and on the week rose 11 3/4 cents. March Spring wheat futures ended unchanged at $9.12 1/4. March HRW wheat futures bulls shifted into a higher gear to end the week and prices posted a technically bullish weekly high close today.
Cotton: March cotton rose 25 points to 82.29 cents but is down 393 points from a week-ago. Cotton was able to mildly rebound from the bearish tone USDA set in Thursday’s monthly report, finding support from strengthening crude oil futures which are nearing $80.00 per barrel.
Cattle: Nearby February live cattle ended the week at $157.725 up 17.5 cents after trading lower most of the day. The close marked a 95-cent rise on the week. March feeder futures tumbled $1.40 to $182.875 at Friday’s close, which represented a weekly decline of $2.775. The modest backlog of feedlot cattle caused by three straight weeks of packer cutbacks over the holidays seemed weigh on cash cattle prices, as well as futures, this week.
Hogs: Nearby February hog future remained under pressure but rebounded from early lows. The contract slid 10 cents on the day, closing at $78.65. That marked a weekly drop of $1.625. The bearishness dominating the hog and pork sector in the new year continued Friday, as indicated by the official Wednesday quote for the CME hog index dropping another 47 cents to $75.49 and Thursday’s preliminary figure dropping another 66 cents to $74.83.