HIGHLIGHTS

·         Market Trend—Corn, Down 1-2; Soybeans, 6-7 Lower; Wheat, Down 2 to 3

·         Wall Street is called flat on the opening with holiday trading expected to be light.  10 AM EST will bring the release of November’s pending home sales, with a 1% rise expected and versus October’s 5^th straight monthly decline of .6%.  Traders note that after 2013’s strong equity market performance, 2014 will be hard pressed to match.  Asia was mostly higher this morning with the Nikkei up 57% for the entire year; Shanghai was the worst, off 7.6% YTD.  All 3 major Europe bourses are slightly in the red this morning.   US futures: Dow, up 4; Nasdaq, off 1 1/2 and the S&P, .4 lower.  Gold is $1.50 higher; crude is a dime lower and the $ Index, down .123 at 80.415

·         T-storm Weather: Heat across Argentina, southern Brazil and Paraguay breaks over Monday-Wednesday as the upper-level high is forced westward.  The transition to cooler weather helps multiple thunderstorm clusters form over Monday-Thursday – especially from central / northern Argentina into southern Brazil and Paraguay where above-average rainfall occurs; thunderstorms also shift further to the north at times to improve soil moisture across Mato Grosso do Sul and Sao Paulo.  The exact pattern that follows is difficult to assess, but a return to sustained heat and drying is not expected

·         Mar Corn Down $.0175 at $4.2675; May Down $.0225 at $4.3350.  The funds bought 2 K on Friday

·         Jan SB Down $.0675 at $13.2475; Mar SB Down $.0675 at $13.07.  The funds bought 4 K SB;  4 K SBM and 2 K SBO

·         Mar Wheat Down $.0275 at $6.0625; May Down $.03 at $6.1325.  The funds were net buyers of 2 K ahead of the weekend       

CORN/SORGHUM

·         ATI Research: Buenos Aires Grains Exchange pegs corn planting in Argentina as of Dec. 26 at 73%.  December 26 in Argentina is roughly equivalent to June 26 in the U.S. so it’s likely some un-planted corn will be switched to soybeans

·         T-storm Weather: Widespread thunderstorms and cooling are needed across Argentina corn areas because many regions have monthly rainfall deficits of 2.00”-3.00” and were 4-6 degrees warmer than average

·         Export Inspections released at 10 AM CST; Corn, 28.5 needed; 35.9 last week.  Milo—4.0 needed; 0.2 last week

·         Friday’s USDA Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report showed all and hogs and pigs on Dec. 1 down 1% from last year; Dec-Feb and March-May farrowing intentions up 1% vs. last year, respectively

SOYBEANS/WHEAT

• ATI Research: Buenos Aires Grains Exchange pegs soybean planting in Argentina as of Dec. 26 at 83%.  It now appears increasingly likely that a significant shift from corn acreage to soybeans will eventually take place
• Export Inspections released at 10 AM CST; Soybeans, 18.2 needed; 55.3 last week
• ATI Research: Buenos Aires Grains Exchange pegs wheat harvest in Argentina as of Dec. 26 at 74%, up 20 points.  At this time, indications continue to point to a significant reduction in production in the next USDA report on Jan. 10
• Export Inspections released at 10 AM CST; Wheat, 16.7 needed; 19.5 last week

ENERGY

·         Energy markets—mostly higher: QCLG14,-$0.10 at $100.22; QRBG, $0.000; QNGG, +$.067 and QHOG, +$.0036

·         Cash ethanol markets were mostly weaker on Friday: Chicago and Gulf were both off 3; Dallas and Tampa both lost 4 ½; New York gained a dime; and LA dropped a penny to $2.57 ½ per gallon

·         RINs posted gains: 2012’s firmed 1 ½ to 31-33; 2013’s up 1 ¾ to 32-34; & 2014’s also 1 ¾ higher at 32-34

·         The January RBOB/January ethanol spread gained 1 ½ cents on Friday, closing at $.8561

LIVESTOCK/POULTRY                            &n​bsp;                       &nb​sp;      

• Plains cash cattle traded Friday at $132 to $134, up $2 to $4 from the week before
• Friday’s USDA Hogs & Pigs report showed both the total hog supply and breeding herd are 1% smaller than last year
• Choice boxed beef values firmed 6-cents Friday and have increased 30-cents over the last three days
• The USDA mandatory pork carcass cutout value fell $2.33 Friday and lost $2.66 over the last two trading days

Sources: Bloomberg, Dow Jones, AP, T-storm Weather