HIGHLIGHTS
· MARKET TREND: CK, Down $.0250; SK, Up $.0275; WK, Down $.03; KWK, Down $.0275
· Not a good start to Friday with much of ASIA lower, driven by a pessimistic Japanese business confidence index. The Nikkei shrank 3.55%; the Hang Seng dropped 1.34% but Shanghai managed to claw its way to a .17% higher close. EUROPE: markets are all weaker—the CAC 40 is off 1.9%; the DAX, -1.7% and the NAS, -1.2%. U.S.: Wall Street is expecting March to have added 205 K jobs; DOW Futures, -54; S&P, -8; NAS, -21. EXTERNALS: $ Index, -.046 @ 94.615; Gold, -$1.80 @ $1,233; May WTI, -$.85@$37.49
· T-storm Weather: A drier pattern develops across most U.S. production areas for at least one week, except across the Corn Belt due to light rainfall around Wed., Apr. 6. Temperatures over the next week will range from unseasonably mild in driest areas of the Plains to seasonable to cool elsewhere, potentially followed by a brief cold snap across the eastern half of the U.S. late next week and into the weekend. Upper-level high pressure keeps much of Brazil drier and warmer than normal over the next to 10 to 14 days, while wetter weather occurs to the south in Argentina, which will likely slow corn harvest
· CK, Down $.0250 @ $3.49; CN, Down $.0250 @ $3.5325. Too many corn acres—the funds sold 15 K on Thursday
· SK, Up $.0275 @ $9.1350; SN, Up $.03 @ $9.2075. Funds bought 4 K SB; sold 1 K SBM and bought 4 K SBO
· WK, Down $.03 @ $4.7050; WN, Down $.03 @$4.7775. The funds bought 8 K –too few wheat acres
CORN/SORGHUM         ;
·   ATI Research: USDA Prospective Plantings 2016 corn acreage estimate impliespotential record harvest of 14.417 bbu
· ATI Research: USDA Grain Stocks report implies corn feed/residual use in Dec-Feb of 1.447 bbu, up 6 mbu vs. last year
· U.S. corn export sales for the week ending March 24 of 31.1 mbu were down 2% from the previous week and 27% from the prior 4-week average. Year-to-date sales are 1246 mbu vs. 1472 mbu last year (-15%)
· U.S. sorghum export sales week end March 24 were negative 0.3mbu: Year-to-date sales-256 mbu-dn 17% v. last year
· May 2016 corn futures on Thu. closed at $3.51 ½--the lowest settlement price for a nearby corn contract since Sept. 4
SOYBEANS/WHEAT
· ATI Research: USDA Prospective Plantings 2016 soybean acreage estimate impliespotential harvest of 3.806 bbu
· ATI Research: USDA Grain Stocks report implies 2015 soybean crop may be over-estimated by 10-20 mbu
· U.S. soybean export sales for the week ending March 24 of 10705 mbu were down 34% from the previous week and 43% from the prior 4-week average. Year-to-date sales are 1620 mbu vs. 1781 last year (-9%)
· ATI Research: USDA Prospective Plantings 2016 all wheat acreage estimate implies potential harvest of 1.937 bbu
· U.S. export sales of all wheat for the week ending March 24 of 11.7 mbu were down 14% from the previous week but up 1% from the prior 4-week average. Year-to-date sales are 708 mbu vs. 842 last year (-16%)
ENERGY
· Mixed: CLK16, -$0.85, $37.49; EBM, -$0.77; EBM-CLM, +$0.66, +$0.08; RBK, -$.0182; NGK, +$0.008; HOK, -$.0196
· Cash ethanol markets were weaker on Thursday: Chicago down 7/8; New York off 2 3/8; Gulf eased ¼; Tampa and Dallas declined 1; and LA was 1 lower at $1.54 ¾ per gallon
· Ethanol RINs were lower: 2014’s, 2015’s and 2016’s were all down ½ at 73 ranging from 72 ½-73 ½
· The April RBOB/April Ethanol spread went back to a carry, gaining $.0293 to settle at +$.0107/gal yesterday
LIVESTOCK/POULTRY ;  
· Choice boxed beef values were 88-cents lower on Thursday, and at $220.99 are down $3.85 vs. a week ago
· Dressed steer weight for week end March 19: 895 lbs., dn 1 lb v. last week, 889.25 for 4-week avg. & 871 last year
· USDA mandatory pork carcass cutout eased $1.00 Thursday, and at $75.88 is 71-cents lower compared to last week
· CME Lean Hog Index up $0.29 Thu. to $65.54. April futures declined $0.575 but are still $2.81 above the index
Sources: Bloomberg, Dow Jones, AP, T-storm Weather