HIGHLIGHTS
· Market Trend: Corn, 5-6 Higher; Soybeans, Up 7-10; Wheat, Up 6-7
· Chinese mfg weakened again in March (HSBC’s PMI fell from 48.5 in Feb to 48.1, fastest drop in 18 months); spurs hope Beijing will implement a # of pro-growth programs. Shanghai Composite rises .9%; the Nikkei gains 1.8% and the Hang Seng, 1.1%. Europe is weaker with the FTSE off .4% and the DAX & CAC-40, down .6 & .8%, respectively. US futures are weaker: Dow, off 28; S&P, down 5.5 and the Nasdaq, off 42.50. Gold is $12.70 lower at $1,323; energy futures are now mostly higher; the $ Index, +.014
· Below- to much-below-normal temperatures are likely for the U.S. Midwest during the first part of this week. The coolest conditions appear likely for Tuesday, when high readings could be as much as 20-25 degrees below normal. A gradual warm-up is then projected into Thursday-Saturday, although highs will still be below normal. Above-normal temperatures may then develop from March 30-April 1. Scattered showers—and possible light snow—could develop on Monday-Tuesday beginning in the western Midwest today. Additional precip in the form of rain could be seen Thursday-Friday. Early spring fieldwork across the southern Midwest is likely to remain slow
· May Corn Up $.0550 at $4.8450; July Up $.05 at $4.8875. The funds sold 2 K on Friday
· May SB Up $.0950 at $14.1825; July Up $.0625 at $13.8850. The funds sold 7 K SB; 7 K SBM and 2 K SBO
· May Wheat Up $.0675 at $7.00; July Wheat Up $.0675 at $7.02. The funds sold an estimated 5 K again Friday
CORN/SORGHUM
· May 2014 corn futures closed at $4.79 on Friday. A year ago, the May 2013 corn contract closed at $7.33
· Export Inspections released at 10 AM CDT; Corn, 35.0 needed; 38.5 last week. Milo—3.3 needed; 7.8 last week
· ATI Research: As of March 13, China had 55mbu of unshipped corn export sales. The trade will be watching today’s report to see if any additional shipments occurred
· Commitment of Traders report: Non-Commercial long corn futures only positions decrease 5,337 contracts
SOYBEANS/WHEAT
· May 2014 soybean futures closed at $14.08 ¾ on Fri. A year ago, the May 2013 soybean contract closed at $14.49
· Export Inspections released at 10 AM CDT; Soybeans, 4.2 needed; 34.5 last week
· Commitment of Traders report: Non-Commercial long soybean futures only positions decrease 8,693 contracts
· Export Inspections released at 10 AM CDT; Wheat, 23.7 needed; 18.2 last week
· Commitment of Traders: Non-Commercial long CBT wheat futures only positions increase 2,115 contracts
ENERGY
· Futures are mixed: QCLK14, +$0.30 at $99.76; QRBK, +$0.0069; QNGK,+$.026 and QHOK, -$.0004
· A mostly firmer trend was seen in cash ethanol markets on Friday: Chicago and Gulf up 3;; NY declined 26; Dallas gained 11; Tampa climbed 2; and LA prices were a penny higher at $3.84 ½ per gallon
· Mixed trading in RINs: 2012’s down 1 at 50-51; 2013’s off ½ at 51 ½-52 ½; and 2014’s up ¼ to 49 ½-51
· The April RBOB/ethanol moved in another 2 ½ cents on Friday, to $.0589 per gallon
LIVESTOCK/POULTRY    
· Choice boxed beef values fell $1.41 Friday and have lost $3.92 over the last three trading days
· Feb. placements up 15% in Friday’s USDA Cattle on Feed, Feb. marketings off 3% and Mar. 1 on feed down 1% from LY
· The USDA pork carcass cutout value gained 37-cents Friday to a record high $130.60
· The USDA’s Iowa/Minnesota average cash lean hog price gained $2.63 Friday to $128.36
Sources: Bloomberg, Dow Jones, AP, T-storm Weather, Global Ag