LIVE from Nashville! Silver Drops 31%, Grain Setback, More Farm Aid

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🌽🌱 Grain Futures Recap

Grain futures finished lower on Friday, pressured by profit-taking and a rebound in the US dollar.

March corn slipped by nearly 3 cents to $4.28

March soybeans dropped 8 cents to $10.64

Wheat futures also declined, with Chicago March wheat down about 4 cents to $5.38

Markets also continue to price in strong Brazilian crop expectations, while traders assessed the impact of severe cold across the US Plains earlier this week and frigid temperatures in Ukraine.
👉 See grain charts below

🥇🥈 Gold & Silver: Historic Volatility

Precious metals suffered historic one-day losses on Friday.

Gold futures fell sharply

Silver posted its worst daily decline since 1980

The selloff followed President Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed Chair, which eased concerns about central bank independence and sent the US dollar sharply higher.

Longer term, metals may still find support from geopolitical risks and trade uncertainty, but Friday was a major reset.
👉 See gold, silver, and Dollar Index charts below

🏛️ Federal Reserve Update

President Trump officially selected Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve Chair when Powell’s term ends in May.

Warsh has historically been a policy hawk

Recently shifted toward supporting lower rates

Viewed by markets as more inflation-focused than other rumored picks

One analyst summed it up:

“Because Warsh has been a policy hawk his entire life, his newfound dovishness looks very suspect.”

👉 See Dollar Index and Bloomberg Commodity Index charts below

📊 CFTC Commitment of Traders

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission released its weekly COT report.

For the week ending January 27, funds were net buyers across major ag markets:

Corn

Soybeans

SRW wheat

👉 See Fund Tracker charts below

🚜 Farmer Assistance Update

Additional farmer aid remains under discussion in Washington.

According to John Boozman, the proposed $15B package was excluded from the current spending bill

Aid could still move forward as a standalone bill or disaster relief add-on

The $11B Farmer Bridge Assistance program is still scheduled to be distributed by February 28

🐄 Cattle Inventory: Historically Tight

The USDA cattle inventory report confirmed the smallest US herd since 1951.

Total herd: 86.2 million head

Beef cow numbers declined again

Slight uptick in replacement heifers, but not enough to signal real expansion

Bottom line: structurally bullish for the cattle market with no clear signs of herd rebuilding.