HIGHLIGHTS
· Market Trend—Corn, Up 1-2; Soybeans, 5-6 Higher; Wheat, 2 to 3 Higher
· Deliveries: Corn, 0; SBO, 153; Chicago Wheat, 607; KC Wheat, 147
· Asian markets slip—fearful that a respectable employment # today from ADP will strengthen the case to scale back the Fed’s stimulus efforts. Nikkei, down 2%; Hang Seng, off .4% and the Kospi, -.6%; Shanghai Composite bucks the trend, gains 1.6%. U.S. futures indices are all slightly higher: Dow, +9; S&P, +1/4 and the Nasdaq, +3 ¾. Externals: gold, down $7.70 at $1,213; crude is up $1.20 and the dollar index is marginally firmer, up .022 at 80.64
· T-storm Weather: Cool fronts trigger thunderstorms across northern Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil over the next 7-10 days; seasonably-heavy rainfall of 1.25” – 2.50” is expected, which will maintain or improve soil moisture levels for corn and soybean development. Argentina stays dry with fluctuating temperatures through Saturday, but thunderstorm chances improve from Sunday-Monday forward as cool fronts interact with more humidity. In the U.S., a dramatic change toward unusual and record-setting coldness is beginning as the polar vortex dives southward from the Arctic Circle
· Dec Corn Up $.0150 at $4.2350; Mar Corn Up $.0150 at $4.3275. The funds bought 5 K on Tuesday
· Jan SB Up $.0525 at $13.25; Mar SB Up $.0650 at $13.11. Fund activity: bot 2 KSB and 1 K SBM, sold 2 K SBO
· Dec Wheat Up $.0275 at $6.5650; Mar Wheat Up $.0325 at $6.7175. The funds bought 3 K yesterday
CORN/SORGHUM
· ;ATI Research: Year-to-date U.S. corn export sales are 1.0Bbu, which is a record 71% of the annual USDA forecast for this point of the marketing year. Buyers look to be responding to much lower prices compared to the past 3 years
· Implied corn grind for ethanol in the latest reporting week increased 2.5mbu to 100.2 million per week and was up 13.7 million versus a year ago
· T-storm Weather: Thunderstorms next week may further delay Argentina corn planting potential
· Private consultant suggesting the possibility of a reduction in Argentina corn acreage due to continued wet weather. Majority of land not planted to corn would likely go to soybeans
SOYBEANS/WHEAT
· ATI Research: U.S. soybean export sales are 1.352Bbu, or 93% of the annual USDA forecast. This is 18 percentage points ahead of the previous high for this time period set back in 2003
· T-storm Weather: Significant dryness or wetness problems do not exist across most soybean areas of Brazil, Paraguay
· ATI Research: Flurry of U.S. soft red winter wheat export sales seen; 4-week total a 10-year high as Egypt, Mexico buy
· T-storm Weather: Historic cold temps this week may impact U.S. HRW and SRW wheat. Patches of winterkill are very likely in parts of CO, KS, NE and SD due to limited snowpack and intense coldness, and potentially parts of IL and WI
ENERGY
· Energy markets—mixed: QCLF14,+$1.22 at $97.26; QRBF, -$0.0032; QNGF, +$.007 and QHOF, -$.0069
· EIA weekly estimates (API): crude, steady (-12.4); gasoline, +1.1 (-0.1); distillates, -1.6 (+0.5)
· Cash ethanol markets were mostly firmer on Tuesday: Chicago was 7 higher; Gulf gained 6 ¼; Dallas was up 1 ½; Tampa increased a penny; New York jumped 18; but LA declined 4 ½ to $2.49 per gallon
· RINs were higher: 2012’s up 2 to 29-30; 2013’s were 1 ¾ higher at 30-31; & 2014’s gained 2 to 30 ½-32
· The January RBOB/December ethanol spread tightened in 10 ½ cents on declining inventory concerns, to $.3737/gal
LIVESTOCK/POULTRY   ;
·   After increasing $4.48 over the previous six trading days, Choice boxed beef values eased 6-cents yesterday
· Cash cattle are quiet with feedyards asking $134 to $135, but no packer bids reported. Cattle traded LW at $132
· After increasing $2.60 over the previous two days, the USDA pork carcass cutout value eased 90-cents yesterday
· The USDA’s Iowa/Minnesota average cash lean hog price fell $1.43 yesterday to $80.34
Sources: Bloomberg, Dow Jones, AP, T-storm Weather