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Corn closed 2.8-percent lower today, with the December contract settling 15 3/4 cents lower at $5.69 1/4 a bushel. Broad based commodity selling pressured corn lower.

Softs

Orange juice closed 5.3-percent lower today, with the November contract settling 5.95 cents lower at $1.0620 a pound. Speculation that Tropical Storm Hanna will miss Florida, the second largest producer of Oranges, was noted for the steep decline. Orange juice futures gained 5.6-percent over the past two weeks on hurricane concerns.

National Hurricane Center forecast maps are showing that Tropical Storm Hanna will probably head north to the South Carolina coast, avoiding the eastern half of Florida.

Cotton closed modestly higher today, with the December contract settling 40 points higher at 70.18 cents a pound. Cotton opened lower in sympathy of the collapsing CRB index, before speculation that excessive rains could harm the cotton crop sent cotton higher into the close.

October sugar settled 5 points lower at 12.71 cents a pound, December coffee settled 130 points lower at $1.4445 a pound, and December cocoa settled $220 lower at $2,664 a metric ton.

Meats

Lean hogs closed modestly higher today, with the December contract settling 40 points higher at 69.95 cents a pound. Hog futures trading at a discount to the cash market, and what some traders were calling oversold conditions sent lean hogs higher on the session. February pork bellies settled 20 points lower at 92.75 cents a pound.

Feeder cattle closed modestly higher today, with the September contract settling 62 points higher at 111.70 cents a pound. Lower grain prices were noted for the gains in feeder, while October live cattle shed 30 points to settle at 103.75 cents a pound.

Approximately 9.9 million cattle were on feed August 1, this is 4-percent less than a year earlier, the Department of Agriculture said. Feedlots bought the second-lowest number of cattle in July since 1996, the USDA said.