LIVESTOCK: June live cattle closed down $1.22 at 101.75
today. Prices closed near the session low and closed at a
five-week low close. The cattle market bears have thefirm
overall near-term technical advantage and have good
downside momentum to suggest more pressure in the near
term.
August feeder cattle closed down $1.67 at $136.77 today.
Prices closed nearer the session low and hit anotherfive-
week low today. The cattle market bears have the solid
overall near-term technical advantage.
June lean hogs closed up $1.05 at $75.77 today. Prices
closed nearer the session high today. The hog bears still
have the overall near-term technical advantage.
GRAINS: July corn futures closed down 3 1/4 cents at
$3.99 today. Prices closed nearer the session low today.
The corn bulls still have the overall near-term technical
advantage.
July soybeans closed down 19 1/2 cents at $9.99 1/4 a
bushel today. Prices closed near the session low andclosed
at a three-month low close today. Bears have gained the
overall near-term technical advantage. Prices are in a
four-week-old downtrend on the daily bar chart.
July soybean meal closed down $5.40 at $376.90 today.
Prices closed nearer the session low and hit a three-week
low today. The meal bulls still have the overall
near-term technical advantage, but are fading.
July bean oil closed down 52 points 30.60 cents today.
Prices closed nearer the session low today. The bearshave
the firm overall near-term technical advantage.
July SRW wheat closed steady at $4.93 1/2 today. Prices
closed near mid-range today. The bulls and bears are on a
level overall near-term technical playing field.
July HRW wheat closed up 3 1/4 cents at $5.12 3/4 today.
Prices closed near mid-range today. The bulls and bearsare
on a level overall near-term technical playing field.
SOFTS: July sugar closed up 7 points at 11.59 cents
today. Prices closed near the session high on short
covering. The sugar bears still have the firm overallnear-
term technical advantage. A bearish symmetrical triangle
pattern has formed on the daily bar chart. Prices are ina
four-month-old downtrend on the daily bar chart.
July coffee closed up 45 points at 117.40 cents today.
Prices closed nearer the session high on tepid short
covering in a bear market. The coffee bears have thesolid
overall near-term technical advantage.
July cocoa closed up $59 at $2,733 a ton today. Prices
closed near the session high on short covering after
hitting a four-week low early on today. Prices this week
have seen a bearish downside “breakout” from the recent
trading range at higher price levels. The cocoa bullsstill
have the overall near-term technical advantage. However,
today’s downside breakout suggests a market top is in
place.
July cotton closed up 73 points at 84.49 cents today.
Prices closed near mid-range today. The cotton bulls have
the firm overall near-term technical advantage but have
faded recently.
July orange juice closed up 165 points at $1.7155 today.
Prices closed near the session high and hit another 16-
month high today. Bulls have the solid overall near-term
technical advantage. Prices are in a steep, six-week-old
uptrend on the daily bar chart.
July lumber futures closed up the $10.00 limit at $629.00
today. Prices hit another contract and record high today
and closed near mid-range. The bulls have the strong
overall near-term technical advantage. There are no early
chart clues that a near-term market top is close at hand.
METALS: June gold futures closed up $0.10 at $1,290.40
today. Prices closed near mid-range and hit another five-
month low today. Prices Tuesday dropped below what was
major psychological support at $1,300.00, which has now
become stiff chart resistance. Prices are in a two-month-
old downtrend on the daily bar chart. The gold bears now
have the overall near-term technical advantage.
July silver futures closed up $0.071 at $16.34 today.
Prices closed near the session high today on short
covering. The silver bears have the overall near-term
technical advantage.
July N.Y. copper closed up 120 points at 306.80 cents
today. Prices closed nearer the session high today. The
copper bulls and bears are on a level overall near-term
technical playing field amid recent choppy trading.
ENERGIES: June Nymex crude oil closed down $0.14 at
$71.17 today. Prices closed nearer the session high onmild
profit taking after hitting a 3.5-year high Tuesday. The
bulls have the solid overall near-term technicaladvantage.
There are no early technical clues that a market top is
close at hand.
June heating oil closed up 80 points at $2.2570 today.
Prices closed near the session high today and closed at a
contract high close. The bulls have the solid overallnear-
term technical advantage.
June (RBOB) unleaded gasoline closed up 212 points at
$2.2260 today. Prices closed near the session high andhit
another contract high today. The bulls have the solid
overall near-term technical advantage.
June natural gas closed down 1.7 cents at $2.819 today.
Prices closed nearer the session low today. Bulls havethe
slight overall near-term technical advantage.
CURRENCIES: The June Euro currency
closed down 36 points at 1.1839 today. Prices closed near
mid-range and hit another five-month low today. The bears
have the firm overall near-term technical advantage.Prices
are in a six-week-old downtrend on the daily bar chart.
The June Japanese yen closed up 170 points at .90960today.
Prices closed nearer the session high on short covering
after hitting a 4.5-month low on Tuesday. Bears have the
firm overall near-term technical advantage. Prices are ina
six-week-old downtrend on the daily bar chart.
The June Swiss franc closed up 21 points at 1.0025 today.
Prices closed near mid-range today. The Swissy bears have
the solid overall near-term technical advantage. A 2.5-
month-old downtrend is in place on the daily bar chart.
The June Canadian dollar closed up 48 points at .7824
today. Prices closed nearer the session high today, on
short covering. The bears have the overall near-term
technical advantage.
The June British pound closed down 9 points at 1.3518
today. Prices closed nearer the session high today. The
bears have the overall near-term technical advantage.
Prices are in a four-week-old downtrend on the daily bar
chart.
The June U.S. dollar index closed up 0.122 at 93.220today.
Prices closed near mid-range and hit another five-month
high today. The bulls have the firm overall near-term
technical advantage. Prices are in a steep four-week-old
uptrend on the daily bar chart.
June U.S. T-Bonds closed down 5/32 at 141 3/32 today.
Prices closed nearer the session low and closed at a
contract low close today. The bond market bears have the
solid overall near-term technical advantage and gained
fresh power today.
June U.S. T Notes closed down 1.0 (32nds) at 118.20.0
today. Prices closed nearer the session low and closed ata
contract low close today. The bears have the solidoverall
near-term technical advantage and gained more powertoday.
GENERAL STOCK MARKET COMMENT: U.S. stock indexes closed
firmer today. It appears the U.S.-North Korea summit in
June is unraveling, which is not surprising to many.North
Korea has cancelled talks with South Korea and now saysit
will not completely disarm its nuclear arsenal. The U.S.
has not formally responded. This development could flareup
into a markets-moving geopolitical event in the nearterm.
In overnight news, the Euro zone consumer price index for
April came in at up 0.3% from March and up 1.2%, year-on-
year. Those numbers were in line with marketexpectations.
Japan’s first-quarter GDP showed a growth rate of -0.2%,
which was below forecasts for no change in growth.
Attention of the marketplace this week is also on U.S.
trade meetings with China in Washington, D.C. Also, a
possible U.S. decision on the NAFTA trade agreement with
Canada and Mexico could be announced late this week, but
many are skeptical it will happen so soon. Something else
to keep an eye on: The Turkish currency, the lira, fellto
a record low against the U.S. dollar overnight, which
prompted the Turkish central bank to issue a warningabout
“unhealthy” developments in the markets. In years past,
unstable secondary currency markets have produced a
contagion effect in the major currencies. This is not the
case now, but it still warrants monitoring.