U.S. Economy
The U.S. Census Bureau said that construction spending was at an annual rate of $1.0784 trillion in November, down .6% from October's pace and down 3.3% from a year ago. The September eurodollars closed up .145 at 98.705.

Grains and Cotton
The USDA said that last week's export inspections of:
Corn totaled 23.4 million bushels, down 31% from a year ago.
Soybeans totaled 28.7 million bushels, up 2% from a year ago.
Wheat totaled 10.6 million bushels, down 45% from a year ago.
March wheat was lower for most of the day, but finished up 5.75 cents at $6.167.

March soybeans closed up a dime at $9.87, helped that exports are staying stronger than the USDA expected this year.

Cocoa
According to Dow Jones Newswires, Ghana and the Ivory Coast are experiencing a stretch of hot and dry weather that may stress the cocoa crop. March cocoa ended up $15 at $2,555.

Orange juice
Even though the ten-day forecast for central Florida remains safely warm, March orange juice closed up 2.60 cents at 74.70, helped by bargain-hunting.

Energies
There is talk that OPEC may hold another meeting in February in an effort to support the price of oil. March crude oil gained $2.48 to $52.69, the highest close in three weeks.

In spite of diplomatic efforts for a ceasefire, Israel says that they will not stop the offensive in Gaza until their objectives are met.

Currencies
An index of construction activity in the U.K. fell from 31.8 to 29.3 in December, the tenth consecutive month of contraction. The March British pound closed up 2.55 cents at $1.4707 with talk that the government is considering backing troubled asset-backed securities.

The March euro fell 2.50 cents to $1.3573, blamed on profit-taking after gaining almost 10% in December.

Even though gold was lower today and the U.S. dollar index was higher, the two "commodity currencies" finished higher. The March Australian dollar closed up .44 at 71.07 and the March Canadian dollar was up 1.70 cents to 84.07, the highest close in eight weeks.