HIGHLIGHTS
· MARKET TREND—Mixed: CH, up $.0075; SF, up $.0350; WH, down $.0150; KWH, down $.0250
· MACRO: Equities are mostly higher overseas as the $ plateaus. Data releases out this morning include housing starts and building permits. ASIA-mostly higher: Nikkei, +0.66%; Hang Seng, -0.18%; Shanghai, +0.20%. EUROPE—higher: FTSE, +0.16%; DAX, +0.43%; CAC, +0.43%. Wall STREET: Futures are to the plus side: DOW, +30; S&P, +2.75; NASDAQ, +6.25. EXTERNALS: $ Index, -.088 @102.965; Gold, +$6.50 @ $1,134.40; Jan Crude, -$0.06 @ $50.84.
· T-storm Weather: Multiple opportunities for rain exist across Argentina from Sat. night forward as several waves of energy pass through late next week or weekend. The most likely scenario is for dry and increasingly hot weather into Sat. to be followed by thunderstorms Sat. night and Sunday in driest central growing areas, followed by one or two rounds of heavy thunderstorms around Wed. when another wave passes; widespread coverage of 1.25"-2.75" is probable with highest totals in driest areas
· Corn: up $.0075 @ $3.5725; CK up $.0050 @ $3.6375. The funds sold an estimated 8,500 contracts
· SB: SF up $.0350 @ $10.3225; SH up $.03 @ $10.4225. Funds—Bot 9 SB, 2.5 SBM, sld 3.5 SBO. Board Crush: $.66, -.05; LY, $.65
· Wheat: WH down $.0150 @ $4.0775; WK, down $.0150 @ $4.1975. Funds: sold 4 K
CORN/SORGHUM
· March 2017 corn futures closed at $3.55 ½ on Thursday. One year ago, March 2016 corn settled at $3.74 ¼
· ATI Research: U.S. corn export sales for 16/17 for the week ending Dec. 8 of 59.7 mbu were well above the trade range of 31-43, and more than double last year’s 22.8. Sorghum sales for 16/17 were 10.2 mbu vs. 6.6 last year
· T-storm Weather: Thunderstorms affect most full-season corn in Brazil over the next 10 days with near-normal rainfall of 1.75” to 3.00” expected
· Consultant: Approx. 25-30% of Argentina corn will pollinate in December, with majority during 2nd half of the month
SOYBEANS/WHEAT
· January 2017 soybean futures closed at $10.29 on Thursday. One year ago, January 2016 beans settled at $8.77
· ATI Research: U.S. soybean export sales for 16/17 for the week ending Dec. 8 of 73.8 mbu were well above the trade range of 40-55, and more than double last year’s 32.6 total
· Consultant: Usually ~95% Argentina soybeans planted by mid-January, but remains to be seen if that occurs this year
· ATI Research: U.S. wheat export sales of 19.5 mbu were above trade range of 11-18 and above last year’s total of 11.8
· T-storm Weather: Wheat in U.S. central & southern Plains largely remains dry this weekend as winter weather system bypasses region. Although temps fall into the -0s from Kansas-Colorado north Sunday morning, winterkill is unlikely
ENERGY
· Mixed: CLF17, -$0.06 @ $50.84; EBG, +$0.08; EBG-CLF, $3.23, +$0.11; RBF, -$.0039;NGF, -$.064; HOF, +$.0054
· A weaker trend was note in cash ethanol markets on Thursday: Chicago off 2 ¼; New York, Dallas and Gulf declined 2; Tampa fell 4 ½; and LA was 3 lower at $1.94 per gallon
· Ethanol RINs were higher: 2015’s, 2016’s and 2017’s all gained 5 ½ to 93-100
· The Jan RBOB/Jan ethanol inverse tumbled $.07 Thursday to -$0.07690/gallon
LIVESTOCK/POULTRY  
· Choice boxed beef values climbed $2.58 on Thursday to $193.46, and are up $3.98 compared to a week ago
· Since Nov. 17, choice boxed beef values have increased $11.15 (6.1%) and are the highest since Sep. 1
· USDA mandatory pork carcass soared $3.01 on Thursday to $77.47—the largest one-day gain since March 18, 2014
· CME Lean Hog Index gained $0.56 Thu. to $57.59. February futures were up $0.625 and are $4.81 above the index
Sources: Bloomberg, Dow Jones, AP, DTN, T-storm Weather