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** PRO FARMER’S AFTER THE BELL FOR 11/20/09 **

Soybean futures ended mostly firmer today and posted strong gains for the week and improved the technical outlook. January beans finished about 57 cents above last week's close. Even with outside markets posting a correction to end the week, beans saw limited pressure due to continued strong demand.
 
Corn futures ended the week under pressure, but nearly even with last week's close to "mark time." The leadership role in the grain markets has shifted back and forth between the corn and soybean markets, which is healthy in a bull market.
 
Futures ended the week under profit-taking pressure, but still ended above last week's close. December Chicago wheat closed about 19 cents above last week's close. Strength has been tied solely to the dollar’s downtrend. Earlier this week, December Chicago wheat traded above the October high, signaling funds still view wheat as a "value" buy.
 
Cotton futures found sharp fund buying today to post strong gains. For the week, December cotton finished 300-plus-point gains compared to last week's close. The contract also posted a fresh monthly high to post an upside breakout.
 
Cattle benefitted from short-covering to finish the week to lift futures back to the top of the consolidation range. For the week, futures ended slightly above last week's close.
 
December lean hogs finished the week about $2.50 above last week's close. A combination of expected tightening of pork supplies into 2010 and improvement in pork exports allowed lean hog futures to post a price recovery and keep the uptrend intact. 

 

The daily commentaries provide a recap of each product's traded price activity, an analysis of the factors that influenced price activity, a recap of any reports released that day, and a look ahead at the next day's schedule. CME Group provides market commentaries for corn, wheat, soybeans, gold, silver, FX, equity indexes and regional market updates.

The information in the Market Commentaries was obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but we do not guarantee its accuracy. Neither the information nor any opinion expressed therein constitutes a solicitation of the purchase or sale of any futures or options contracts.