HIGHLIGHTS
· MARKET TREND—Firmer: CU: up $.03; SQ: up $.07; WU: up $.0425; KWU: up $.04
· MACRO: Fed comments suggest little chance for an immenint rate hike as inflation measures have fallen below “target”. ASIA—Higher: Nikkei, +0.15%; Shanghai,+0.05%; Hang Seng, +0.71%. EUROPE: Lower: DAX, -0.54%; FTSE, -0.03%; CAC, +0.03%. WALL STREET—Futures are higher—DOW, +25; S&P, +4.00; NAS, +29.50. EXTERNALS: $ Index: -.045 @ 93.460; Aug Gold: +$12.60 @ $1,263; Sep crude: +$.08 @ $48.83/bl.
· T-storm Weather: Scattered 0.50" to 1.00" rainfall amounts occur over the next two days with a swath of higher amounts most likely from southeast Iowa through central and southern Illinois. Following this event, seasonable to cool and generally dry weather to dominate the Corn Belt and Delta for 7 to 10 days. Some showers and thunderstorms occur with the setup, but primarily in the southwest Plains where heavy totals occur
· CU, up $.03 @ $3.7575; CZ, up $.0275 @ $3.8875. Fund selling continued with 3 K reported at mid-week
· SQ, up $.07 @ $9.9575; SX, up $.0675 @ $10.07. Funds: even SB & SBM, sold 3 SBO. Board Crush: $.83, -4; LY, $.73
· WU, up $.0425 @ $4.82; WZ, up $.0425 @ $5.07. The funds were even in Wednesday’s trade
CORN/SORGHUM
·   Export Sales to be released at 7:30 AM CDT. Trade expects 8-20 mbu for 16/17 corn and 8-16 mbu for 17/18
· T-storm Weather: After current rain ends, most U.S. corn will be fairly dry for at least a week except along periphery of coolness in the high Plains; heavy rain is likely from western NE south, including crops in CO through northwest TX
· ATI Research: Given the sluggish pace of U.S. new-crop corn export sales & cheaper prices for Brazil & Argentina corn for fall delivery, a 150-200 mbu decline in U.S. Sep-Nov corn exports from last year’s 548 mbu is not unreasonable
· Ethanol grind: Total of 1,012,000 barrels/day for week end July 21—dn 14 thou v. prior week but up 1.4% v. last year
SOYBEANS/WHEAT
· Export Sales report. Trade expects 4-11 mbu for 16/17 soybeans and 11-37 for 17/18; soymeal, 0-100 K MT for 16/17 and 50-125 for 17/18; soyoil, 5-20 K MT for 16/17 and 0-5 for 17/18
· T-storm Weather: Cool and mostly dry weather is forecast for U.S. soybeans beginning on Fri. into early Aug. Beyond next weekend, temps are probable to remain seasonable or cool with slightly better rain chances over Aug. 6-10
· Export Sales report. Trade expects 13-20 mbu for 17/18 all wheat
· ATI Research: U.S. all wheat exports are forecast to range from 17-23 mbu short-term compared to 20.7 last year
· T-storm Weather: Proportion of U.S. spring wheat rated “good and excellent” is the lowest for this week since 1988
ENERGY
· Higher: CLU17, +$0.08 @ $48.83; EBU, +$0.03 @ $51.00; EBU-QCLU,-.04; RBU, +.0059; NGU, -.012; HOU, +.0045
· Cash ethanol markets were higher on Wednesday: Chicago added 1 5/8; New York, Dallas, Tampa and Gulf climbed 1; and LA was 1 higher at $1.76 per gallon
· Ethanol RINs declined on Wednesday: 2016’s and 2017’s eased 1 ½ to 80-81
· The Aug RBOB/Aug ethanol spread expanded $.0061 yesterday, to +$.09730/gallon, premium ETOH
LIVESTOCK/POULTRY  
· Choice boxed beef values eased 55-cents on Wed. to $207.07, and are down 66-cents vs. last week
· ATI Research: USDA Cold Storage report—End of June beef stocks down 10% vs. last year & 7% below the 5-year avg.
· USDA mandatory pork carcass cutout off $1.96 Wed. to $100.01—largest drop since Feb. 22—& dn $3.71 v. last week
· CME Lean Hog Index eased $0.60 on Wed. to $89.84. August futures firmed $0.55 but are still $7.84 below the index
Sources: Bloomberg, Dow Jones, AP, DTN, T-storm Weather