HIGHLIGHTS
· MARKET TREND—Firmer: CK, up $.02; SK, up $.0350; WK, up $.0250; KWK, up $.0325
· MACRO—The DOW hopes to recover some of its 200 point loss the past couple of days; data releases include initial jobless claims and the Philly Fed index. ASIA—Mostly firmer: Nikkei, -0.01%; Shanghai, +0.06%; Hang Seng, +0.97%. EUROPE—Mostly higher:DAX, +0.22%; FTSE, -0.10%; CAC, +0.91%. Wall STREET-Futures point to a higher start: DOW, +40; S&P, +6.25; NAS, +17.50. EXTERNALS: Sep $ Index, -0.233 @ 99.24; April Gold, -$2.10 @ $1,279; May Crude, +$0.36 @ $50.80
· T-storm Weather: Rain affects the southeast third of the central U.S. today. A notably wetter system sweeps from Kansas through the southern Corn Belt & northern Delta Fri.-Sat. Most areas turn dry & cool for approx. 5 days after rain ends, except for continued mildness in the southern Plains. The dry period ends as next week progresses & the large-scale pattern becomes conducive to areas of heavy rain – especially across the western half of the Corn Belt & eastern half of the Plains within Tue.-Thu.
· Corn: CK up $.02 @ $3.6373; CN up $.0225 @ $3.7050. The funds sold 3 contracts at midweek
· SB: up $.0350 @ $9.5375; SN up $.0375 @ $9.6425. Funds: Bought 2 SB, 3 SBM, sold 1 SBM. Board Crush: $.81, -2; LY; $.68
· Wheat: WK up $.0250 @ $4.2150; WN up $.0225 @ $4.3675. Wheat selling by the funds sold 4 K yesterday
CORN/SORGHUM
· Export Sales to be released at 7:30 AM CDT. Trade expects 28-39 for 16/17 corn
· T-storm Weather: In the U.S., widespread coverage of above-normal rainfall is probable within April 25-30 with areas of rain to generally spread from northwest to southeast over April 25-28, likely maintaining mixed planting weather
· Ethanol grind: Total of 993,000 barrels/day for week end April 14—up 7 thou v. last week & 5.8% higher v. last year
· Consultant: Parana is Brazil’s 2nd largest producing state ofsafrinha (double crop) corn, & had been drying out for the last several weeks before rain arrived over the weekend. These rains should help as crop approaches early pollination
· ATI Research: March-May U.S. corn usage is expected to match the 3.384 bbu record high total from 2009/10
SOYBEANS/WHEAT
· Export Sales report. Trade expects 11-18 mbu for 16/17 soybeans; soymeal, 50-200 K MT; soyoil, 8-22
· Consultant: Soybean harvest in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil finishing with yields in some areas up 10-15% vs. last year
· T-storm Weather: Generally dry/cool weather occurs in central/southern Argentina soybean areas through 7-10 days
· Export Sales report. Trade expects 9-17 mbu for 16/17 all wheat
· T-storm Weather: Favorable planting conditions for spring wheat develop in parts of North Dakota given limited rainfall over the next week
ENERGY
· Higher: CLK17, +$0.36 @ $50.80; EBM, +.42 @ $53.35; EBM-QCLM, +.05; RBK,+$.0151; NGK, -$0.002; HOK, +$.0076
· A mixed trend was noted in cash ethanol markets on Wednesday: Chicago up ¼; New York off 1; Gulf and Dallas fell ½; Tampa unchanged; and LA was 1 ½ lower at $1.80 ½ per gallon
· Ethanol RINs were weaker on Wednesday: 2016’s down ¾ to 51-52; and 2017’s eased ¾ to 51-52
· The May RBOB/May ethanol spread lost $.0440 Wednesday and closed at +$.0420/gallon, premium RBOB
LIVESTOCK/POULTRY ;
· Choice boxed beef values declined 82-cents on Wednesday to $215.17, but are still $5.04 higher vs. last week
· Fairly active cash cattle trade occurred on Wednesday, with prices in the South at $130-$132—up $3-$5 vs. last week
· USDA mandatory pork carcass cutout eased 52-cents on Wednesday to $74.55, but is still up 24-cents vs. a week ago
· CME Lean Hog Index fell $0.23 on Wed. to $61.89. May futures were $1.275 lower but are $3.985 above the index
Sources: Bloomberg, Dow Jones, AP, DTN, T-storm Weather