Activity in the organic market remains subdued into the second week of January. Organic feed-grade grain prices remain soft. Market sentiment also remains soft. Merchandisers tell Fastmarkets that prices will likely remain soft for the foreseeable future. Higher interest rates in the United States have worked their magic and have put downward pressure on commodity prices.

Data impacting demand was released at the tail end of last week. Jobs data will continue to be an essential metric that will likely determine consumer animal protein consumption. On Friday the Labor Department reported a better-than-expected payroll number. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), non-farm payrolls rose by 216K in December, more than the 170K expected by economists.