Corn: March corn fell 1 cent to $6.76 1/4, marking the lowest close since Jan. 13. Corn traded a narrow range, spending most of the session on either side of unchanged.
Soybeans: March soybeans fell 8 1/4 cents to $15.06 1/2, ending the session below the 10-day moving average of $15.09 1/4 and down 21 1/4 on the week. March soymeal fell $7.50 to $463.70, while March soyoil dropped 118 points to 61.97 cents. Soybeans tumbled for the third straight session as weather improves in Argentina.
Wheat: March SRW wheat futures firmed 7 cents to $7.41 1/2, though the contract slipped 2 1/4 cents for the week. March HRW wheat rallied 16 cents today to $8.48 and firmed 4 1/4 cents for the week. March HRS futures firmed 8 3/4 cents to $9.12 3/4, up 1/2 cent for the week. Wheat futures rode a corrective wave of buying today, despite weakness in the corn and wheat market.
Cotton: March cotton rose 331 points to 86.70 cents, near the session high, and is up 441 points on the week. Cotton futures surged higher, gaining technical traction as strengthening crude oil futures provided spillover support for the natural fiber.
Cattle: Cattle futures rebounded modestly to end the week, with February live cattle rising 67.5 cents to a close at $156.625. That represented a weekly loss of $1.10. And while expiring January feeders slid 17.5 cents to $177.925, most-active March climbed 87.5 cents to $180.975, which marked a weekly loss of $1.90. Friday’s cattle rally may have been partially driven by short-covering to the end the week, but we suspect packers were unable to force cash prices as low as they hoped (although the Monday-Thursday average fell $2.54 from the week-prior to $155.07) and/or didn’t get the cattle numbers they wanted.
Hogs: Hog futures rebounded Friday, with nearby February rising $1.175 to $77.825 at the close. That represented a weekly drop of 82.5 cents. Although the lean hog index continues falling, with Wednesday’s official quote at $73.28 and Thursday’s preliminary figure coming in another 63 cents lower at $72.65, futures turned higher in anticipation of rebounding cash quotes next week.