CBOT futures closed about where they were trading at midday, although old-crop soybeans turned negative. The CBOT and CME closed before news broke that the US House of Representatives will convene Sunday evening (the Senate is in session now). The US stock market recovered from sharp losses on the news. However, after the stock market closed, comments from legislative leaders didn’t sound as optimistic as traders hoped. Political reporters will be working through the weekend.

The early jump in soybean oil futures evaporated by the close, which weighed soybean futures down. Traders have lots of factors to watch so daily trading ranges have mostly been running 20+ cents in nearby contracts.

Cattle futures closed lower as traders heard Senator Reid say there was little hope of a “fiscal cliff” solution in 2012. The jump in income taxes and consumers’ financial worries would likely hurt meat demand. Only time will tell what Congress will do to prevent most consumers from experiencing an even bigger tax increase than the payroll tax waiver that will expire January 1^st.

The same potential economic factors weighed on Lean Hog futures. The Pork Cutout value dropped 1.14 to $81.56/cwt today.

 Corn Mar -2 691.5; Jly -2 692; Dec -3 596

Bean Jan -6 1419; Jly -3 1401; Nov +2 1302   Meal Jan -1.5 430;  Oct -1 372.5   Oil unch 4829

Wheat Mar -2 772; Jly -1 790; Dec -1 816   KC -1 823;  MGE -4 865

LC Dec -50 12885; Feb -72 13305; Oct -60 13447 FC Jan -80 15127; Apr -102 15582; Aug -80 16170

LH Feb -42 8702; Apr -52 9095; Jly -17 9970

Milk Jan +12 1820; Feb +7 1842

Oats -7 353

Rice -15 1500

US$ steady

Dow -18 13096 SP -2 1418 NAS -4 2986 Tran -22 5266

VIX -.01 19.47

WTI +13 9111 Brent -7 11100 Gas +1 283 NG -3 337 HO +2.5 307.5 Eth unch 220.5

Gold +4 1665 Slvr +17 3020

2-yr -.008 0.273% 5-yr -.043 0.731% 10yr -.046 1.733% 30yr -.053 2.907%