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Corn and Soybean posted quiet sessions with more action seen in Wheat. Much of the activity appeared to be end-of-the-week positioning, with light support coming from the lower USD index. U.S. stocks were also quiet with the DJIA posting only modest gains on the day Friday.

Wheat futures were the upside leader today and nearby contracts ended with gains in the teens at all 3 locations. Nevertheless, Chicago Wheat futures ended moderately lower on the week and near the midway point of their extended sideways trading range. Next week, attention will be Friday’s Small Grains Summary, in which USDA will set final Y 2012 wheat production estimates.

Corn futures favored a firmer tone amid short-covering Friday, but faded into the close and posted sharp losses on the week. Friday’s low-range close was largely due to the release of Informa Economics’ 2012 and Y 2013 acreage and crop estimates. This has spurred ideas the smallest crop estimate of the season has been seen, although disappointing harvest results continue to be reported. Stepped-up harvest progress has given Bears the near-term advantage.

Corrective Short-covering helped Soybean futures end mid-range for the day with slight gains in most contracts, but the market finished sharply lower for the week. Soymeal posted gains for the day, while Soyoil posted losses, but both markets were sharply lower on the week. With harvest underway, Soybean will struggle to find buyers next week, despite the tightening supply situation, especially considering that the current Bull Spread structure of the market gives producers little reason to store Soybeans.

Lean Hog futures closed as much as 95 cents higher today as the rebound from the recent lows continued. For the week, futures ended near weekly highs and posted strong weekly gains. The Bulls have short-term momentum on their side as traders are covering short positions after the extended price fall. But to build on this week’s price gains, the cash Hog market must continue to strengthen.

Live Cattle futures posted sharp losses this week as traders feel the cash market has run out of steam. Feeder futures posted slight gains for the week in all but the front-month contract, with weaker Corn futures providing support. Traders have some positive USDA data to factor into prices to start next week, as total Beef stocks in frozen storage as well as total Cattle on feed came in below traders’ expectations.