Corn, cotton, wheat, and soybeans were up for the week.

A strong finish to the week, due to optimism regarding trade discussions, led prices to close up for the week across the board. Markets will closely monitor trade news out of Buenos Aires, Argentina where G-20 leaders are meeting November 30 and December 1. The anticipated meeting between Presidents Trump and Xi (on Saturday) will dictate price direction early next week, particularly for soybeans. Positive news, indicating a path toward a trade dispute resolution between the world’s two largest economies, will likely result in a continuation of the late week rally, possibly breaking through strong resistance at $9.00 (January soybean contract). Negative reports could trigger a retest of the six month low of $8.26 (January soybean contract).

Total U.S. export commitments (accumulated exports and outstanding sales) for corn, soybeans, and wheat continue to languish well below the required pace to meet USDA’s marketing year projection for the 2018/19 marketing year. Cotton, the lone bright spot, has seen sales wain in recent weeks after very strong sales this summer and early fall. Currently, cotton export commitments are 70% of the USDA marketing year total well above the 5-year average pace of 58%. By comparison, corn, soybean, and wheat export commitments (5-year averages) are 41% (46%), 45% (71%), and 54% (73%). Continue reading at Tennessee Market Highlights.