HIGHLIGHTS
· Market Trend: Corn, Down 1-2; Soybeans, SQ, Up ¼; others, down 1-4; Wheat, 5-6 Lower
· Iraq and the Ukraine remain center-stage in the world of geo-politics but concerns appear to be moderating, or so say the wire services. Asia ended the day mostly higher—the Nikkei closed up .20%; the Hang Seng gained .18% but Shanghai slipped back .14%. Europe is mostly in the red: FTSE, down .01%; the DAX, .25% weaker and the CAC-40, off .28%. However, U.S. futures are leaning towards a positive start: S&P, +5; Dow, +33 and the Nasdaq, +9.75. Outside markets finds the $ Index .19 higher at 81.725; energy futures are mostly weaker and gold is $1.10 higher at $1309.60
· T-Storm Weather: Several days of cool and mainly dry weather this week. Coolness retreats fromFriday forward, marking the start of the warmest pattern since July 20-22. The most likely forecast is for a few thunderstorms to form along the leading edge of warmth this weekend – primarily in the northern Plains and far northern Corn Belt. Thereafter, the setup appears more favorable for thunderstorm clusters as energy, warmth, and humidity interact; maximums frequently reach mid-80s to mid-90s
· Sep Corn Down $.01250 at $3.5550; December Down $.0175 at $3.6650. The funds began the week buying 5 K
· August Soybeans Up $.0025 at $13.15; Sep Down $.0150 at $11.07. Funds sold 6 K SB; sold 2 K SBM and 7 K SBO
· Sep Down $.0550 at $5.41; December Down $.0525 at $5.5750. Fund selling amounted to 4 KMonday
CORN/SORGHUM
· USDA WASDE at 11:00 CDT: Average trade guesses for U.S. corn carryout: 13/14, 1.243Bbu; 14/15, 2.034Bbu
· USDA WASDE at 11:00 CDT: Average trade guess for U.S. corn production: 14/15, 14.250Bbu vs. 13.860 in July
· ATI Research: USDA pegs U.S. Good/Excellent corn ratings unch at 73%. Updated ATI crop size down 47mbu from a week ago to 14.249Bbu; yield at 170.0bpa
· ATI Research: Updated corn balance sheet--13/14 carryout down 104mbu to 1.144Bbu; 14/15 dn 151 mil to 1.894Bbu
SOYBEANS/WHEAT
· USDA WASDE at 11:00 CDT: Average trade guesses for U.S. soybean carryout: 13/14, 137mbu; 14/15, 406mbu
· USDA WASDE at 11:00 CDT: Average trade guess for U.S. soybean production: 14/15, 3.815Bbu vs. 3.800 in July
· ATI Research: USDA Good/Excellent U.S. soybean ratings down a point to 70%; crop size dn 2 million to 3.877Bbu
· ATI Research: Updated soybean balance sheet--13/14 carryout down 13 at 123mbu; 14/15 dn 15 million to 495mbu
· USDA WASDE at 11:00 CDT: Average trade guess for U.S. all wheat carryout: 14/15, 666mbu
· USDA Crop Production at 11:00 CDT: Average trade guess for U.S. all wheat production: 2.015Bbuvs. 1.992 in July
ENERGY
· Futures are mostly lower: QCLU14, -$.89 at $97.19; QRBU, -$0.0142; QNGU,+$.031; and QHOU, -$.0166
· A mostly firmer tone was seen in cash ethanol markets to begin the week: Chicago added 3; Gulf slid 3 ½ 6; Tampa up 3 ½; New York gained 4; Dallas climbed 1 ½; and LA was a nickel higher at $2.34 per gallon
· RINs were lower: 2012’s down 1 at 51 ½-52 ½; 2013’s off ¾ at 52-52 ½; and 2014’s was ½ lower at 52-53
· The September RBOB/September Ethanol spread weakened $.0191 per gallon, settling at $.6674 on Monday
LIVESTOCK/POULTRY  
· Choice boxed beef values fell $1.01 yesterday and have lost $2.97 over the last two trading days
· The USDA 5-area weekly average steer price for last week was $159.92, down $2.78 from the week before
· The USDA pork carcass cutout value fell $4.33 yesterday and has declined $5.76 over the last two trading days
· CME Lean Hog Index down $1.08 to $119.91. August future up $0.325 to $114.55, but are $5.36 below the index
Sources: Bloomberg, Dow Jones, AP, T-storm Weather