Corn: May corn futures saw a 5 3/4-cent gain before closing at $6.17 1/4, down 25 1/2 cents on the week. Corn futures broke down from a bearish technical pattern after Wednesday’s USDA Supply and Demand report.
Soybeans: May soybeans fell 3 3/4 cents to $15.07, and is down 11 3/4 cents on the week, while May meal closed $1.00 lower at $485.90 and May soyoil ended down 45 points at 56.61 cents. Soybeans ended the week on a softer note following USDA’s release of its weekly export sales report yesterday, which revealed net sales reductions for the week ended March 2, notching a marketing-year low.
Wheat: May SRW wheat futures rose 13 1/2 cents to $6.79 1/4, near the session high and on the week lost 29 1/2 cents. May HRW wheat futures gained 21 cents to $7.98 1/4, near the daily high but down 18 cents on the week. Both markets scored contract lows early on today. Spring wheat futures settled 7 cents higher at $824 1/2, down 48 1/4 cents on the week. The winter wheat markets saw short-covering bounces from technically oversold conditions Friday.
Cotton: May cotton futures saw losses of 400 points, settling at 78.18 cents, down 600 points on the week. Cotton futures broke down to levels not seen since mid-December today after trading largely sideways over the last several months.
Cattle: April live cattle futures fell 52 1/2 cents to $164.275, near the session low and for the week dropped $1.15. May feeder cattle futures lost $1.90 to $203.575 and nearer the session low. For the week, May feeders gained $2.625. The technically bearish weekly low close in April live cattle futures Friday sets the stage for some more follow-through selling pressure on Monday, but so far the pullback is just routine profit taking and a downside correction in a market that’s still fully bullish, overall.
Hogs: Nearby April hog futures rallied $2.375 to $87.45 at Friday’s close, with a late surge powering the strong close. That represented a weekly rise of $2.90. Ideas the ongoing seasonal advance in hog and pork values is set to accelerate seemed to power today’s hog futures advance, although technical buying may also have played a role in the rally.