HIGHLIGHTS
· MARKET TREND—Lower: CH, down $.0175; SF, down $.03; WH, down $.06; KWH, down $.0450
· MACRO: NON OPEC MEMBERS AGREE TO 588 k BPD OUTPUT CUT—crude rockets higher. “Historic event”—Russia. ASIA-Mostly lower: Nikkei, +0.84%; Hang Seng, -1.44%; Shanghai, -2.49%. EUROPE-lower: FTSE, -0.29%; DAX, -0.22%; CAC, -0.01%. Wall STREET: Futures are mostly lower: DOW, +3; S&P, -2; NASDAQ, -22.25. EXTERNALS: $ Index, -.320 @ 101.300; Gold, -$6.20 @ $1,167.90; Jan Crude, +$2.05 @ $53.55. Deliveries: SBM, 3; SBO, 344; HRW, 53; SRW, 0; Oats, 1
· T-storm Weather: Drying continues into at least next Sunday (Dec. 18) in Argentina. Temps initially stay seasonable to cool, but turn hot starting Thu.-Fri. as maximums soar well into the 90s. Changes begin Sun.-Mon. (Dec. 18-19) and more-so the following week (Dec. 18-24) as several waves pass and trigger thunderstorms, but coverage and amounts are highly uncertain. We continue to forecast 0.75”-1.50” over Dec. 18-24, which is near-normal for the week, and temps likely to return to seasonable
· Corn: CH down $.0175 @ $3.5775; CK, down $.0175 @ $3.64505. Friday, the funds bought an estimated 4 K
· SB: SF dn $.0325 @ $10.3425; SH, dn $.0325 @ $10.4525. Funds—bot 4 SB, sold 8 SBO, 0 SBM. Board Crush: $.70,-.03; LY, $.72
· Wheat: WH down $.06; WK, down $.05 @ $4.2150. The funds bought 6 K to end the week
CORN/SORGHUM
· March 2017 corn futures on Fri. closed at $3.59 ½--the highest weekly settlement price for the contract since Oct. 28
· ATI Research: In its monthly Supply/Demand report on Friday, the USDA increased 2016/17 Brazil corn production by 3.0 MMT to 96.0 MMT. Exports were boosted 2.5 MMT, which has implications for the 2017/18 U.S. export program
· T-storm Weather: Assuming little to no rainfall occurs into Saturday (Dec. 17), it would cause Argentina corn to end up #1 driest over Nov. 1 – Dec. 17 since 1980, increasing importance of rainfall from the upcoming weekend forward
· Export Inspections released at 10 AM CDT; Corn, 43.2 mbu needed; 45.3 last week. Milo—5.3 needed; 4.7 last week
SOYBEANS/WHEAT
· November 2017 soybean futures on Fri. closed at $10.25--one year ago, November 2016 futures settled at $8.90 ¼
· T-storm Weather: Thunderstorms occurs across much of Center-West, North, Northeast and Southeast Brazil over the next week; 2.00” to 4.00” amounts are most common for soybeans followed by lower coverage next week
· Export Inspections released at 10 AM CDT: Soybeans, 28.0 mbu needed; 70.2 last week
· Export Inspections released at 10 AM CDT: Wheat, 18.3 needed; 16.7 last week
· T-storm Weather: Strong system sweeps across central U.S. Fri.-Sat., most likely producing 2” to 5” of snow in parts of the central and northern Plains, as well as the Corn Belt. Best chance for a major snowstorm is in Eastern Corn Belt
ENERGY
· Firmer: CLF16, +$2.05 @ $53.55; EBG, +$2.17; EBG-CLF, $2.91, +$0.12; RBF, +$.0543; NGF, -$.184; HOF, +$.0552
· Cash ethanol markets were significantly higher again on Friday: Chicago added 5 ½; New York gained 5 5/8; Gulf jumped 7 ½; Tampa increased 4; Dallas rose 5; and LA was 2 higher at $1.88 per gallon
· Ethanol RINs plummeted: 2015’s, 2016’s and 2017’s all fell 13 to 75-87
· The Jan RBOB/Jan ethanol inverse gained $.0414 on Friday, closing at -$0.1757/gallon
LIVESTOCK/POULTRY    
·   Choice boxed beef values declined 54-cents on Friday to $188.94, and are 78-cents lower compared to last week
· Light to moderate cash cattle trading developed on Friday in the South at $110, which is $5 lower than the prior week
· USDA mandatory pork carcass eased 4-cents on Friday to $75.43, but is still up $2.84 vs. a week ago
· CME Lean Hog Index gained $1.16 on Fri. to $54.33. December futures were up $1.05 & are $2.395 above the index
Sources: Bloomberg, Dow Jones, AP, DTN, T-storm Weather