HIGHLIGHTS
· Market Trend: Corn, 1 Higher; Soybeans, SQ, Up 11-12; SU, Up 4; Wheat, 3-4 higher
· Pro-Moscow separatists provide black boxes from downed Malaysian air liner; release train with victims. Conciliatory actions mollify global markets: Asia gains—Nikkei, up .84%; the Hang Seng. 1.69% higher and Shanghai, up 1.02%. Strength carries over to Europe where early trading shows gains of .80% to .86% for each of the FTSE, DAX and CAC-40. U.S. futures poised for a positive start with the Dow expected to open 49 higher; the S&P, +5.25 and the NAS, +12.50. August crude is 32 cents higher; gold is off $7.40 to $1,306 as risk aversion subsides and the $ Index is .178 higher at 80.805
· T-Storm Weather: Thunderstorms focus on North Dakota and northern Minnesota today, then the southeast third of the Corn Belt today-Wednesday. Better rain chances exist across a larger corn and soybean area within Friday-Sunday, though widespread coverage of heavy rain is not expected. A few very warm and hot days occur through Saturday, but sustained heat does not occur. A sharply cooler pattern follows next week, causing July 2014 to rank among the coolest since 1895 across corn/soy belt
· Sep Corn Up $.01 at $3.65; December Up $.0075 at $3.7275. The funds began the week selling 4 K
· August SB Up $.1150 at $11.8725; Sep Up $.04 at $10.9550. The funds sold 4 K SB; 2 K SBM and 2 K SBO
· Sep Wheat Up $.04 at $5.3450; December Up $.0425 at $5.5850. The funds sold 1 K to begin the week
CORN/SORGHUM
· December 2014 corn futures made a contract low of $3.70 ½ on Monday
· ATI Research: USDA estimates U.S. Good/Excellent corn condition ratings unchanged at 76%. Updated ATI crop size up 44mbu from a week ago to 14.152Bbu with the national average yield now forecast at 168.8bpa
· T-storm Weather: July is on pace to rank #2 coolest of the last 120 years
· ATI Research: Updated corn balance sheet--13/14 carryout up 9mbu to 1.262Bbu; 14/15 down 22 mil to 1.688Bbu
SOYBEANS/WHEAT
· ATI Research: USDA Good/Excellent U.S. soybean ratings up one point to 73%; crop size up 6 million to 3.838Bbu
· ATI Research: Updated soybean balance sheet--13/14 carryout steady at 126mbu; 14/15 up 6 million to 459mbu
· USDA Crop Progress: U.S. soybeans setting pods at 19% compared to 7% last year and the 5-year avg. of 17%
· T-storm Weather: 99% of U.S. soybeans were normal to wet over the long-term (last 90 days)
· ATI Research: USDA Good/Excellent U.S. spring wheat ratings were steady at 70%; HRS crop size unch at 518mbu
· ATI Research: Updated HRW wheat balance sheet--14/15 carryout at 183mbu
ENERGY
· Futures are mostly higher: QCLQ14, +$.66 at $105.25; QRBQ, +$0.0238; QNGQ, -$.007; andQHOQ, +$.0148
· Weaker trend evident in cash ethanol markets on Monday: Chicago and New York down a penny; Gulf down 4; Tampa declined 2 ½; Dallas off 1 ½; and LA was 6 ½ lower at $2.36 ½ per gallon
· RINs were steady across the board: 2012’s at 51-52; 2013’s at 51-52; and 2014’s also at 51-52
· The August RBOB/August ethanol gained nearly 4 ¾ cents, expanding to $.8114/gallon on Monday
LIVESTOCK/POULTRY    
· After falling $2.37 over the previous two trading days, Choice boxed beef values jumped $2.07 yesterday
· The USDA 5-area weekly average steer price for last week was $156.05, up 16-cents from the week before
· After setting record highs for four consecutive days, the USDA pork carcass cutout value fell $2.74 yesterday
· CME Lean Hog Index down $0.62 to $133.16. August future down $1.975 to $125.10 and are $8.06 below the index
Sources: Bloomberg, Dow Jones, AP, T-storm Weather