12/20/24 Commodity Market Year-End Review

Commodity Market Year-End Review

The last full trading week of the year wraps up today before both of the next two Wednesdays will have markets closed on Christmas and New Year’s Day. Markets are open for shortened sessions on Christmas Eve, but full sessions on New Year’s Eve. The short sessions will produce the rare occurrence of grains closing at 12:05 central before the livestock finish at 12:15.

With the caveat of knowing that a lot can still happen during the half of a dozen trading sessions left in 2024, it is the time of the year for looking back at where markets stand on the basis of relative performance. It would seem to have played out that many of this year’s trends were carried forward from the previous year, 2023. There are countless reasons why to expect that 2025 will break off on a much different course than the last two years, which could be a favorable outcome for farmers who grow the commodities at the bottom of the price performance list as well as for consumers who purchase the products tied to the biggest gains this year.