HIGHLIGHTS
· MARKET TREND—Mixed: CK, down $.02; SK, down $.0025; WK, up .0125; KWK, up $.0425
· MACRO—Mixed results in Asia and Europe; some saber rattling from the White House. ASIA—Mostly lower: Nikkei, -0.29%; Shanghai, +0.08%; Hang Seng, -0.34%. EUROPE—Mostly higher: DAX, +0.06%; FTSE, -0.27%; CAC, +0.16%. Wall STREET-Futures are again slightly (very) higher: DOW, +1; S&P, +1.75; NAS, +3.20. EXTERNALS: Sep $ Index, -0.30 @ 98.495; June Gold, +$2.10 @ $1,268; June Crude, +$0.30 @ $49.27. Deliveries: SBM-303; SBO-1,442; Corn-1,100; HRW-400; SB—1,015; SRW-447
· T-storm Weather: A textbook system produces unusually high coverage of very heavy rain in key corn, soybean, and winter wheat areas over the next several days–most likely ending Sunday night in the central Plains and Mondayelsewhere. The exiting system drags cold air far southwardSaturday-Sunday, causing rain to mix with snow from the central Plains through the northwest half of the Corn Belt, while also inducing a frost or freeze in western HRW wheat areas Sunday morning
· Corn: CK down $.02 @ $3.60; CN down $.0175 @ $3.6750. The funds reversed course--weather, buying 8 KThursday
· SB: down $.0025 @ $9.4525; SN down $.0050 @ $9.5675. Funds: Bot 1 SB, 1 SBM & 0 SBO. Board Crush: $.86, 0; LY; $.66
· Wheat: WK up $.0125 @ $4.1475; WN up $.0025 @ $4.3150. Cold temps in Kansas encouraged 6 K of fund buying
CORN/SORGHUM
· ATI Research: The 5-year avg. for U.S. sorghum planting progress increases approximately 3% from April 23-30 to 26%
· T-storm Weather: Looking at U.S. weather early next week, cool & showery conditions occur within a large area over Tuesday-Thursday; maximums mostly in the 60s with minimums in the 30s-40s, & scattered amounts of 0.25" & less
· U.S. old-crop corn export sales for week end April 20: 38.9 mbu, up 18% v. 4-week avg. but 54% below last year’s 85.1
· Consultant: In the flooded agricultural areas of Argentina, there are many fewer acres of corn than soybeans and corn is less susceptible to losses due to flooding than soybeans
SOYBEANS/WHEAT
· U.S. old-crop export sales of soybeans week end April 20: 29.7 mbu, up 98% v. 4-week avg. and more than double last year’s 12.9. Old-crop sales of soymeal of 112,000 MT were down 24% v. the 4-week avg. & 47% v. last year’s 209,600
· Consultant: Most of the recent flooding in Argentina has occurred in the provinces of La Pampa and Buenos Aires and it is still difficult to determine the extent of soybean losses as producers have been unable to get into fields
· KCBT July 2017 wheat futures firmed $0.08 ½ to $4.33 ¾on Thursday---the highest settlement price since April 13
· T-storm Weather: A frost of light freeze affect western U.S. HRW wheat in the Plains Sunday morning
· Export sales of U.S. wheat week ending April 20: 2.3 mbu, down 87% v. 4-week avg. and 82% below last year’s 12.9
ENERGY
· Higher: CLM17, +$0.30 @ $49.27; EBM, +.21 @ $51.65;EBM-QCLM,-.12; RBM,+$.023; NGM, +$0.019; HOM, +$.0084
· Cash ethanol markets were lower on Thursday: Chicago down ¾; New York, Dallas and Tampa eased 1; Gulf fell ½; and LA was a penny lower at $1.76 per gallon
· Ethanol RINs declined on Thursday: 2016’s off 2 at 40-44; and 2017’s fell 2 ¼ to 40-44
· The May RBOB/May ethanol spread further inverted, gaining $.0373 to -$.0420/gallon, premium ETOH
LIVESTOCK/POULTRY  
· Choice boxed beef values eased 3-cents on Thursday to $219.15, but are $3.43 higher vs. the previous week
· Cash cattle trading increased on Thursday, with prices in the South pegged at $135 to $138—up $4 to $7 vs. last week
· USDA mandatory pork carcass cutout firmed 28-cents on Thu. to $73.12, but is still 90-cents lower vs. last week
· CME Lean Hog Index fell $0.22 on Thursday to $59.71. May futures firmed $2.225 and are $7.19 above the index
Sources: Bloomberg, Dow Jones, AP, DTN, T-storm Weather