HIGHLIGHTS
· MARKET TREND—Firmer: CN, up $.01; SN, up $.0150; WN, up $.0075; KWN, up $.0175
· MACRO—Foreign equity markets are mostly higher, following yesterday’s modest decline on Wall Street. ASIA—Mostly higher: Nikkei, +1.07%; Shanghai, -0.50%; Hang Seng, +0.58%. EUROPE—Higher: DAX, +0.33%; FTSE, +0.40%; CAC, +0.64%. Wall Street-Futures are mostly higher: DOW, -4; S&P, +1.25; NAS, +9.75. EXTERNALS: Sep $ Index, +.211 @ 96.86; June Gold, -6.40 @ $1,266; Aug Crude, +$.17 @ $48.73
· T-storm Weather: Coolness temporarily breaks today-Fri. as 2-3 days of mildness unfold. A few thunderstorms dot the Corn Belt today & Fri. as warmth expands, but well-organized rainfall is not expected. Better-organized rain follows Sat.-Mon., especially across the southeast half of the Corn Belt, including some of the wettest areas where scattered 0.50"-1.00" amounts occur. Rain chances are lower to the north & west, including the spring wheat belt where only light totals are now expected
· Corn: CN up $.01 @ $3.73; CZ up $.01 @ $3.92. The funds bought 6 K at mid-week
· SB: SN up $.0150 @ $9.1775; SX up $.0325 @ $9.2150. Funds: bot 2 SB, 1 SBM, sold 1 SBO. Board Crush: $.85, -3; LY; $1.32
· Wheat: up $.0075 @ $4.30; WU up $.0075 @ $4.4450. The funds bought 1 K on Wednesday
CORN/SORGHUM
· ATI Research: The 5-year avg. for U.S. corn planting progress increases approx. 4% from May 28-June 4 to 97%
· T-storm Weather: With the exception of northern (& western) Plains where above-normal temps generally continue, another cool period is forecast for most U.S. corn next week. Most areas will be dry except central & southern Plains
· Consultant: Harvest of safrinha (double crop) corn in Mato Grosso, Brazil should accelerate with dry weather forecast
· Updated NWS forecast for June: Below-normal temps for southern Midwest, above-normal rain in eastern Corn Belt
· Ethanol margins: $0.11 per gallon—up vs. $0.09 last week but below $0.41 in 2016. EIA report at 10:00 am CDT
SOYBEANS/WHEAT
· ATI Research: The 5-year avg. for U.S. soybean planting progress increases approx. 11% from May 28-June 4 to 79%
· Consultant: Brazil soybean crop estimate is unchanged at 111.0 MMT with a neutral to slightly higher bias
· T-storm Weather: A notably milder period is forecast for U.S. soybeans June 11-15. Some rain accompanies warming
· ATI Research: 5-year avg. for U.S. spring wheat emergence increases approx. 11% from May 28-June 4 to 85%
· T-storm Weather: Only light rain now expected for U.S. spring wheat this weekend, marking a considerable reduction from the previous forecast. Spring wheat will need rain if thunderstorms next week expectedly stay to the south
ENERGY
· Firmer: CLQ17, +$.179 @ $48.73; EBQ, +$.09 @ $50.85;EBQ-QCLQ, +.10; RBQ,+.0093; NGQ, +.029; HOQ, +.0026
· EIA Report Estimates (API): crude oil, -2.5 (-8.7); Gasoline, -1.1 (-1.7); Distillates, -0.3 (+0.1)
· A firmer tone was evident in cash ethanol markets on Wednesday: Chicago increased 2 ¼; New York added 2 ½; Gulf climbed 1 ¼; Tampa up ½; Dallas gained 1; and LA was ½ higher at $1.72 per gallon
· Ethanol RINs posted minor gains on Wednesday: 2016’s and 2017’s were ¼ higher at 73-74
· The June RBOB/June ethanol spread tugged in $.0514 on Wednesday to +$.07250/gallon, premium RBOB
LIVESTOCK/POULTRY  
· Choice boxed beef values firmed 29-cents on Wednesdayto $245.54 , but are still down 54-cents vs. last week
· Cash cattle asking prices in the South are pegged at $134 to $135, but trading has remained extremely quiet this week
· USDA mandatory pork carcass cutout value was 29-cents higher on Wed. at $89.82, and is up 92-cents vs. a week ago
· CME Lean Hog Index gained $0.08 on Wed. to $76.53. June futures firmed $1.425 and are $5.395 above the index
Sources: Bloomberg, Dow Jones, AP, DTN, T-storm Weather