HIGHLIGHTS
· Market Trend—Corn, Down 1-2; Soybeans, 7-8 Lower; Wheat, Down 1-2
· Deliveries: 73 SBO; 51 Wheat
· World markets are lower this morning on the age-old concern (relatively speaking), the pending cut in Federal Reserve bond buying. Also, soon-to-be U.S. budget agreement may not avoid another debt ceiling rhubarb. Asia: Nikkei down 1.1%; Hang Seng, off .5% and Shanghai, .1% lower. Europe is also weaker: FTSE (-.1%); DAX (-.7%) and CAC-40 (-.4%). U.S. futures are in the red with the S&P off 2.75; the Dow, down 26 and the Nasdaq, 3 ½ lower. The energies are all trading higher; gold is $17.85 lower at $1,239/oz and the $ Index is 79.88, down .01
· T-storm Weather: A widespread heat wave is forecast across Argentina from Friday-Saturday forward as maximums often reach the mid-90s to low-100s. Isolated thunderstorms accompany the pattern, but best chances are generally away from key areas; corn and soybean soil moisture diminish, but planting accelerates from drying. It is unclear when the pattern will fade, but overall concern is only low because one round of thunderstorms within or shortly after the heat wave would limit the potential for dryness. Further north, key areas of Center-West and Southeast Brazil benefit from periodic heavy thunderstorm clusters
· Dec Corn Down $.0125 at $4.30; Mar Corn Down $.0150 at $4.3775. The funds bought 4 K yesterday
· Jan SB Down $.0750 at $13.3650; Mar SB Down $.0725 at $13.2125. The funds bought 3 K SB; even on SBM and bought 3 K SBO
· Dec Wheat; Mar Down $.0150 at $6.3925. Funds buy 2 K Wednesday
CORN/SORGHUM
· Export Sales at 7:30 AM CST. Trade expects 24 to 30mbu corn. Watching to see if China makes additional purchases
· Weekly ethanol production rose 31 thous barrels per day last week to 944 thous, which is also up 15% vs. 2012
· March 2014 corn futures ended trading Monday at $4.39 ¼--the highest closing price for the contract since Nov. 13
· T-storm Weather: While an early-season heat wave that focuses on Argentina within the next 10 days is ideal for corn planting, dryness & heat will stress some crops if a round of cooler and/or wetter weather doesn’t quickly follow
· ATI Research: Historical trends suggest 2013 final U.S. corn yield could increase 0.36bpa, adding 31mbu to crop size
SOYBEANS/WHEAT
· Export Sales: Trade expects 28 to 35mbu soybeans; soymeal, 100-200 K MT; soyoil, 0-30 KMT
· T-storm Weather: Above-average rain of 2.00”-4.00” occurs across Center-West and Southeast Brazil through Dec. 16 to continue adequate to moist conditions for soybean development
· ATI Research: Near-term soybean exports are expected to average 50-55mbu per week over the next month, which is 10 greater than both last year and the 5-year average
· Export Sales: Trade has 11 to 18mbu all wheat. Watching to see if sales rebound from last week’s marketing year low
· T-storm Weather: Dryness is developing in southern wheat areas of Argentina, which should help facilitate harvest
ENERGY
· Energy markets—higher: QCLF14,+$0.37 at $97.80; QRBF, +$0.0022; QNGF, +$.047 and QHOF, +$.0016
· Cash ethanol markets were steady to, in some cases, sharply lower on Wednesday: Chicago down 12 ¼; Gulf off 10 ½; Dallas and Tampa both lost a penny; New York off 10; while LA was steady at $2.62 ½ per gallon
· Weaker trend in RINs: 2012’s down 1 4 ¾ to 27-29; 2013’s off 1 ¾ to 28-30; & 2014’s also 1 ¾ lower at 28-30
· The January RBOB/January ethanol spread pushed out 5+ cents to $.7301/gallon on higher weekly output/stx gain
LIVESTOCK/POULTRY  
· Choice boxed beef values firmed 49-cents yesterday, but are down 69-cents from a week earlier
· After gaining $1.79 over the previous four trading days, the USDA pork carcass cutout value eased 60-cents yesterday
· The USDA’s Iowa/Minnesota average cash lean hog price gained $1.21 yesterday to $78.63
· Broiler egg set last week was up 4.9% from last year and average set over the last four weeks is up 2.1%
Sources: Bloomberg, Dow Jones, AP, T-storm Weather