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.
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.