By: NATHAN STUEDLE
GRAINS:
December corn closed up 8 cents per bushel at $4.05 1/4 and March corn was up 8 1/2 cents at $4.22 1/2. November soybeans closed up 14 cents at $10.61 1/2 and January soybeans were up 13 1/4 cents at $10.42 1/2. September KC wheat closed up 2 3/4 cents at $5.07, September Chicago wheat was up 3 cents at $5.06 1/2 and December Minneapolis wheat was down 0.02 cents at $5.8975.
For the Week:
September corn rose 1 cent for the week to close at $3.83 3/4 and December corn finished down 1/4 cent at $4.05 1/4. September soybeans closed up 54 1/2 cents to end the week at $10.22 1/4 and November beans closed up 55 cents to finish at $10.42 1/2. Chicago September wheat finished down 8 at $5.06 1/2, KC September fell 11 1/4 cents to end at $5.07. Minneapolis wheat ended down .0575 to end the week at $5.69 1/4.
Grain and soy markets closed stronger Friday with the exception of soymeal and Minneapolis wheat. Traders likely added back some weather premium due to the warmer and drier outlook for parts of the eastern and southern Midwest and Delta. The strength came despite the news that Brazil's corn and soy crops would both be record large. Kansas City and Chicago wheat had become extremely oversold and joined in Friday's rally effort.
LIVESTOCK:
The live cattle complex was back to rallying as traders were hopeful that the fed cash cattle market will indeed see higher prices in both regions this week. There was a thin movement of cattle traded in the North at mostly $384 to $386, which is $3.00 to $5.00 higher than last week's weighted average, Asking prices remain firm in the South at $237 plus, and there are bids currently on the table in Texas at $233, but again, no Southern live cattle have traded yet. Even so, traders are hopeful that the market will continue to see fundamental support, which is mainly why the contracts traded higher into Friday's close. Plus, it's helpful that boxed beef prices were rallying noticeably again today.
The feeder cattle complex was worried at the start of Friday's complex that the day's trade may be pressured like it was on Thursday. But thankfully, upon seeing the live cattle contracts trading higher, even the feeder cattle contracts traded significantly stronger into Friday's close.
At last, the lean hog complex traded higher as the market has finally seemed to find some technical support, which helped rally the contracts and the strong uptick in pork demand this morning was helpful too. The $14.87 rally in the belly is the biggest reason why the carcass price was higher, but every single one of the major cuts were trading higher and advancements of $2.00 to $5.00 were the norm this morning.