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April 28, 2008

Commodity Market Summary
by Commodity News Center

April 28, 2008

Grains

Soybeans fell over 3-percent today, with July contract settling 39 1/2 cents lower at $12.97 1/2 per bushel. Weather concerns continue to pull the strings in the grain pit.

Expectations that the soggy fields in the U.S. Midwest with reports of snow Monday in Northern Illinois will prevent farmers from getting the crop into the ground pushed the May contract 22 3/4 cents higher at $6.00 a bushel. Corn plantings have crawled to the slowest pace since 1995.

Rice settled limit-down today, with the July contract settled 50 cents lower at $23.68 per hundredweight. Profit-taking after reaching an all-time high last Wednesday was noted for today's decline.

July wheat settled 25 1/2 cents higher at $8.41 per bushel, May oats settled 9 cents higher at $3.78 1/2 a bushel, July soy-meal settled $9.50 lower at $335.50 per short ton, and July soy-oil settled 117 points lower at 58.48 cents per pound.

Softs

Coffee jumped over 2-percent higher with the may contract settling 310 points higher at $1.3355 a pound. Soaring prices for robusta coffee in London, and strength in the British pound and Brazilian real versus the greenback sent coffee higher in New York today.

July cotton settled 17 points higher at 71.61 cents a pound, May sugar settled 79 points lower at 10.58 cents a pound, July orange juice settled 35 points higher at $1.2065 a pound, and July cocoa settled $11 higher at $2,799 a metric ton.

Meats

Cattle futures settled mixed, with April live cattle closing 12 points higher at 92.40 cents a pound. Rising cash prices and strong demand continues to push live cattle higher. May feeder cattle settled 102 points lower at 106.725 cents a pound.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's mid-day boxed-beef wire reported choice cuts fell .10 cents a pound and select items were .09 cents a pound lower.

Hog futures closed lower on the session with June lean hogs settling 90 points lower at 75.45 cents a pound and May pork bellies settled 300 points lower at 74.10 cents.

Energy

Crude oil closed slightly higher today, with the June contract settling 23 cents higher at $118.75 a barrel. Supply concerns sent crude higher after oil workers at Ineos PLC's Grangemouth refinery started a 2-day strike on Sunday. This forced BP to close a pipeline that transports about 40-percent of the U.K.'s daily production.

Nigeria is also experiencing supply disruptions, at about 50 percent of its current oil production, because the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta "MEND" has stepped up attacks on pipelines in Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta.

June RBOB gasoline settled 2.3 cents lower at $3.0307 a gallon, June heating oil settled nearly unchanged at $3.2988 a gallon, and June natural gas settled 19.7 cents higher at $11.16 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Metals

Gold closed .7-percent higher Monday, with the June contract settling $5.80 cents higher at $895.50 an ounce. Spill-over strength from climbing energy prices and the falling dollar increases the appeal of precious metals as a hedge against inflation.

May silver settled 16.3 cents higher at $17.013 an ounce, July platinum settled $10.60 higher at $1,978.60 an ounce, June palladium settled $8.15 lower at $440.80 an ounce, and May copper settled 2 cents higher to end at $3.9355 a pound.

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