HIGHLIGHTS
· Market Trend—Corn, Down 1; Soybeans, Steady to 1 Lower; Wheat, 1-2 Lower
· Concerns over possible Fed action on the stimulus program took precedence over an improving Chinese manufacturing environment for most overseas markets on Friday. Growth in the latter rebounded to 7.8% in Q3 but doubts about the 4th quarter linger. The Nikkei lost .9%; the Hang Seng managed a .2% gain; Taiwan, Singapore and Indonesia were all weaker. Europe is steady to lower. U.S. stock futures indices were slightly higher. Outside markets find the energy complex mixed; gold is down $8.80 and the $ index is a ¼ point higher at 80.52 for the December contract.
· Rains shifts to the eastern Corn Belt today with Indiana, Michigan and Ohio to see the greatest coverage. Amounts are forecast to be significantly lighter than what was seen across the central Corn Belt on Thursday, however, with only 0.10”-0.25” to impact most. Only very light amounts are forecast for Saturday—mostly less than 0.10”—across the same area. Temps are forecast to cool significantly today/tomorrow, with lows Saturdaynight likely to be near freezing for central belt
· Dec Corn Down $.0075 at $4.2750; Mar Corn Down $.0125 at $4.38. The funds again sold an estimated 4 KThursday
· Nov SB Steady at $12.8025; Jan SB Down $.0050 at $12.6575. Funds sold 8 K SB, 7 K SBM and 2 K SBO yesterday
· Dec Wheat Down $.01 at $6.6650; Mar Wheat Down $.02 at $6.7750. The funds sold another 5 KThursday
CORN/SORGHUM
· December 2013 corn futures traded to $4.27 on Thursday, the lowest price for the contract since Aug. 25, 2010
· Corn export sales the past 3 weeks totaled 179.3mbu--more than double the low end of the expected range of 75-98
· Several private corn crop estimates now topping 14.0Bbu for Nov. 8 USDA Crop Production report
· The final corn harvest price for crop insurance for the month of October was $4.3916
· World corn production for the 2013-14 crop year is forecast to hit 948 million tons, up from the prior forecast of 943 million tons the London-based International Grains Council said Thursday
SOYBEANS/WHEAT
· Soybean export sales the past 3 weeks totaled 174.2mbu--sharply above the top end of the expected range of 88-110
· SBM 3-week export sales were 805.2 K MT vs. est of 800-1100 K MT; SBO weak at 14.5 vs. range of 40-160 KMT
· The final soybean harvest price for crop insurance for the month of October was $12.8683
· Wheat export sales the past 3 weeks totaled 48.1mbu, which was below the low end of the expected range of 55-73
· World wheat production for the 2013-14 crop year is forecast to reach 696 million tons, up from the prior forecast of 693 million tons the London-based International Grains Council said Thursday
· Updated National Weather Service forecast for November: Normal precip for HRW in Central/Southern Plains, above-normal for SRW in Illinois, Indiana and Delta. Equal chance of above- or below-normal temps for most areas
ENERGY
· Energy markets are mixed this morning: QCLZ13,-$0.07 at $96.30; QRBZ, +$0.0022; QNGZ, -$.018 and QHOZ, Unch
· Cash ethanol markets were mostly lower Thursday: Chicago ¾ weaker; Dallas and Tampa both off a dime; Gulf a penny lower; NY was up 1 ½; and LA was off 7 ¾ at $2.00 ½ per gallon
· Further bounce in RINs: 2012’s up 1 ½ to 24-26; 2013’s gain 1 to 25-27; & 2014’s edged up 1 to 25 ½-27 ½
· The December RBOB/ethanol spread widened $.0120 to $.9339 per gallon, driven by rising ethanol output
LIVESTOCK/POULTRY     ;
· After increasing $4.71 over the previous three days, Choice boxed beef values eased 51-cents yesterday
· Yesterday’s Cattle on Feed report revealed the smallest October 1 on feed supply since 1998
· After falling $1.94 during the previous two days, the USDA pork carcass cutout value rebounded $1.65 yesterday
· Yesterday’s Cold Storage report confirmed total pork supplies on September 30 were down 10% from last year
Sources: Bloomberg, Dow Jones, AP, T-storm Weather