Most ag markets ended the week rather poorly

Traders cited harvest pressure for Friday’s crop market weakness. Corn futures acted surprisingly well Thursday night, but followed soybeans lower as Friday passed. Prices fell despite early news of a big sale and a huge total on the weekly USDA Export Sales report. Wire service sources cited fresh harvest pressure and bullish profit-taking for the losses. December corn futures ended Friday having fallen 4.25 cents to $3.48/bushel, while May sagged 4.25 to $3.70.

The soy complex moved unanimously lower. Selling associated with renewed harvesting apparently weighed on soybean and product futures Friday. As with the grain markets, traders cited position-squaring ahead of the weekend for the decline. Having nearby beans and oil fail at moving average resistance probably triggered some sales as well. November soybean futures fell 14.75 cents to $9.5175/bushel at their week-ending settlement, while December soyoil lost 0.34 cents to 32.02 cents/pound, and December soymeal sank $3.5 to $325.1.

The wheat markets followed corn and beans lower. The lack of harvest pressure may have enabled the wheat markets to hold up relatively well Friday morning, but bulls couldn’t sustain midsession gains. Bullish traders were reportedly taking profits ahead of the weekend. December CBOT wheat slipped 1.0 cent to $5.16/bushel as Friday’s trading ended, while December KC wheat slumped 3.25 cents to $6.0175/bushel, and December MWE wheat dropped 6.0 to $5.705.

Big beef losses seemed to depress cattle futures Friday. The cattle market surged Thursday afternoon as the stock market rebounded from its mid-week lows. However, CME bulls gave back a portion of the move, which probably reflected the late drop in choice beef cutout and worries about seasonal weakness. December live cattle futures closed down 0.25 cents at 165.05 cents/pound Friday, while April futures dipped 0.40 to 162.05. Meanwhile, November and January feeder cattle futures plummeted the 3.00-cent daily limit to 228.12 and 234.15 cents/pound, respectively.

Hog futures posted ended the week on a firm note. Although cash hog and pork prices came under increasing pressure this week, nearby futures posted a sizeable comeback from early Friday lows. That probably reflected trader suspicions that CME discounts are too large December hog futures edged up 0.25 cents to 90.57 cents/pound at their Friday close, while April hogs surged 1.05 to 87.50.

Horrid export data undercut nearby cotton futures Friday. The cotton market rallied Thursday night as traders anticipated a big equity market surge this morning. However, the weekly Export Sales report indicated very little cotton was sold last week, thereby triggering a sharp ICE reversal. Deferred futures proved surprisingly strong, although the reasons for doing so weren’t at all clear. December cotton futures tumbled 0.56 cents to 63.00 cents/pound as Friday’s ICE trading wound down, while March futures bounced 0.02 cents to 61.73.