HIGHLIGHTS
· Market Trend: Corn, Up 1-2; Soybeans, 5 Lower; Wheat, 1 to 4 Higher
· Monday’s less than stellar performance on Wall Street somewhat carried over to Asia with the Nikkei off .42% and the Hang Seng unchanged. Shanghai managed a .2% gain; South Korea’s Kospi fell .1% as Samsung reported a 24% drop in operating profit. Early trade in Europe is weaker with the FTSE, DAX and CAC-40 all showing losses in the .44-.46% range. And, U.S. markets are expected to continue the trend with futures indicating declines of .11% for the Dow; .13% for the S&P and .05% for the NAS. Outside markets show gold up $4 at $1,320; energy futures are weaker and the $ Index is up .068 at 80.335
· T-Storm Weather: A cool pattern generally continues through 10-14 days as hot upper-level high pressure stays too far to the west for heat to envelop key areas. Instead, the position of the high allows cool fronts to occasionally drop southward, limiting the duration of any heat, and keeping temps near or cooler than usual through at least mid-month. The position of the high also causes the jet stream to align from northwest to southeast, thereby sending waves of energy through key agricultural areas. Each wave triggers thunderstorms, but the location of each wave varies, resulting in high coverage of at least near-average rainfall
· July Corn Up $.01 at $4.1025; September Up $.0175 at $4.0225. Deliveries: Corn, 5; Ethanol, 0. Funds sold 15 K to begin the week
· July SB Down $.0525 at $13.5775; August SB Down $.05 at $12.6825. Deliveries: 2 SB; 0 SBM, 258 SBO. Funds: sold 7 K SB; 8 K SBM, 4 K SBO
· July Wheat Up $.0150 at $5.4650; September Up $.0325 at $5.760. Deliveries, 18 SRW; 0 HRW. The funds sold 8 K
CORN/SORGHUM
· December 2014 corn futures made a contract low of $4.03 on Monday
· ATI Research: USDA pegs U.S. Good/Excellent corn condition ratings unchanged vs. last week at 75%. Updated ATI crop size down 5mbu from a week ago to 14.093Bbu with the national average yield now forecast at 168.1bpa
· T-storm Weather: Recent history and our analyses do not suggest a major change in the current weather pattern for corn production area is forthcoming beyond 14 days into the future (beyond July 21)
· ATI Research: Updated corn balance sheet--13/14 carryout down 6mbu to 1.259Bbu; 14/15 dn 110 mil to 1.702Bbu
SOYBEANS/WHEAT
· ATI Research: USDA Good/Excellent U.S. soybean ratings unchanged at 72%; crop size up 9 million to 3.832Bbu
· ATI Research: Updated soybean balance sheet--13/14 carryout up 30 million to 126mbu; 14/15 up 40 mil to 543mbu
· ATI Research: USDA Good/Excellent U.S. spring wheat ratings unchanged at 70%; HRS crop size up 1 mil to 518mbu
· ATI Research: Updated all wheat balance sheet--14/15 carryout at 625mbu
ENERGY
· Futures are lower: QCLQ14, -$.19 at $103.34; QRBQ, -$0.0157; QNGQ, -$.024; and QHOQ, -$.0112
· Cash ethanol markets were a mixed bag to begin the week: Chicago and Gulf down 1 ½; Tampa added 1 ½; Dallas was unchanged; New York gained ¼; and LA slipped 2 ½ to $2.33 ½ per gallon
· Firmer trend in RINs: 2012’s up 1 ½ at 52-54 ½; 2013’s added 1 ½ to 52-54 ½; and 2014’s were 1 ¼ higher at 52-54
· The August RBOB/August ethanol spread closed at $.8890 Monday, up $.0142 per gallon
LIVESTOCK/POULTRY  
· Choice boxed beef values firmed 6-cents yesterday and are once again at record highs at $248.18
· The USDA 5-area weekly average steer price for last week was a record high $157.61, up $3.29 from the week before
· After setting a record high on Thursday, the USDA mandatory pork carcass cutout value eased 27-cents yesterday
· CME Lean Hog Index gained $0.59 to $129.25. July future up $0.075 to $131.80 and are $2.55 above the index
Sources: Bloomberg, Dow Jones, AP, T-storm Weather