Corn and cotton prices are up; wheat prices are mixed and soybean prices down for the week. The December U.S. Dollar Index was trading before the close at 79.13, up 0.04 since last Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average before the close was trading up 302 points for the week at 11,215. Crude Oil was trading before the close at 83.05 a barrel, up 3.85 a barrel since last Friday. Jobs data out today (October 7) estimates that the U.S. added 103,000 jobs in September and that more jobs were added in July and August than were first estimated. The unemployment rate stayed steady at 9.1%. These figures were better than expected and calmed some fears that the U.S. was slipping back into a recession. However, it also shows that the economy is not gaining much momentum. Continue reading →

Corn, cotton, soybeans, and wheat prices are all down for the week. The December U.S. Dollar Index was trading before the close at 79.09, down 0.14 since last Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average before the close was trading up 219 points for the week at 11,007. Crude Oil was trading before the close at 79.09 a barrel, down 0.76 a barrel since last Friday. Financial markets remain unsettled as Europe works toward a bailout package for Greece. Funds liquidated positions this week putting pressure on the markets either as a reaction to financial markets, squaring positions for the end of the quarter or squaring positions before today’s grain stock report. Continue reading →

Corn, cotton, soybeans, and wheat prices are all down for the week. The December U.S. Dollar Index was trading before the close at 79.09, up 2.00 since last Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average before the close was trading down 721 points for the week at 10,788. Crude Oil was trading before the close at 80.30 a barrel, down 7.88 a barrel since last Friday.  Fear and panic again griped the stock and commodity markets this week as the U.S. Dollar was the only thing up. Comments from the Fed that significant downside risk to the economic outlook including strains on global financial markets contributed to the meltdown. Continue reading →

Corn, cotton, soybeans, and wheat prices are all down for the week. The September U.S. Dollar Index was trading before the close at 76.66, down 0.59 since last Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average before the close was trading up 493 points for the week at 11,490. Crude Oil was trading before the close at 87.77 a barrel, up 0.51 a barrel since last Friday.  USDA released its monthly supply and demand report September 12 with comments on this report posted at http://economics.ag.utk.edu/outlook.html . The monthly update had a mostly neutral to bearish tone overall with the exception of corn which was neutral to bullish. The markets do appear to be turning to a more seasonal pattern particularly for grains as harvest pressure looks to help prices ease as combines roll. Continue reading →