Corn: December corn futures fell 6 1/4 cents to $4.15 1/4, though still marked a 10 1/2 cent gain on the week. Corn futures endured heavy selling pressure today that can largely be chalked up to profit-taking following solid gains earlier this week.
Soybeans: November soybeans fell 8 1/2 cents to $9.87 3/4 but rose 17 3/4 cents on the week. December soymeal closed $4.60 lower at $305.80, marking a $9.80 week-over-week loss. December soyoil fell 18 points but rose 233 points on the week. Soybeans faced extended selling pressure to end the week following a poor close on Thursday as looming technical pressure and fading soymeal continued to cast a shadow over prices.
Wheat: December SRW wheat futures fell 12 1/2 cents to $5.69, nearer the session low and closed at a five-week low close. For the week, December SRW fell 3 3/4 cents. Today’s losses in the winter wheat futures produced significant near-term technical damage, including bearish weekly low closes, closing below the key 40-day moving averages, and near-term price downtrends on the daily charts being restarted.
Cotton: December cotton fell 87 points to 70.66 cents and gave up 33 points on the week. Cotton futures extended Thursday’s losses as technical pressure plagued the natural fiber along with limited outside market support.
Cattle: December live cattle futures fell 10 cents to $189.15, nearer the daily high and hit a 3.5-month high early on. For the week, December live cattle gained $1.825. November feeder cattle futures rose 5 cents to $248.575 and nearer the daily high. On the week, November feeders rose 97 1/2 cents. The solid overall performances in the live and feeder cattle futures markets this week set the table for follow-through technical buying early next week.
Hogs: Hog futures rebounded quickly from Thursday’s drop, with nearby December futures jumping $1.025 to $79.675. That represented a weekly rise of $1.85. Seasonal patterns suggest a looming downturn in hog and pork values due to historical tendencies for hog slaughter and pork production to continue working toward an annual high in mid-December, whereas consumer demand for pork cuts other than hams typically diminishes at this time of year.