HIGHLIGHTS
· MARKET TREND—Mixed: CU: down $.01; SU: down $.0250; WU: up $.0125; KWU: up $.0150
· MACRO: Markets anticipating favorable comments from speakers at the central bank rendezvous in Wyoming? Higher today. ASIA—Higher: Nikkei, +0.51%; Shanghai, +1.84%; Hang Seng, +1.20%. EUROPE: Higher:DAX, +0.40%; FTSE, +0.35%; CAC, +0.33%. WALL STREET—Futures are higher this morning—DOW, +26; S&P, +4.25;NAS, +16.00. EXTERNALS: $ Index: -.037 @ 93.165; SepGold: +$1.00 @ $1,288; Oct crude: +$.33@ $47.66/bl.
· T-storm Weather: Mainly dry and cool to unseasonably-cool weather affect the southeast half of the Corn Belt and Delta through early next week. Scattered thunderstorms occur to the north and west through Sunday, including the northwest third of soybeans where 0.50" to 1.00" falls. Some showers and thunderstorms drift further into the Corn Belt within Mon.-Wed., but well-organized rainfall is not likely
· CU, down $.01 @ $3.41; CZ, down $.01 @ $3.5525. Fund sales were estimated at 3 K yesterday
· SU, down $.0250 @ $9.3875; SX, down $.0225 @ $9.4425. Funds: Bot 3 SB, 4 SBM, 3 SBO. Board crush: $.96, +4 LY, $.78
· WU, up $.0125 @ $4.1025; WZ, up $.0125 @ $4.3575. The funds were said to have bought 3 K on Thursday
CORN/SORGHUM
· ; December 2017 corn futures on Thursday made a new contract low of $3.54 ½, but closed ½-cent higher at $3.56 ¼
· T-storm Weather: Beyond next week, temperatures fluctuate more widely within a seasonable range over the first week of September, but limited humidity likely limits rainfall coverage and amounts across the Corn Belt
· ATI Research: Combined unshipped export sales of U.S. old-crop and new-crop corn as of Aug. 17 stood at 355 mbu, which is down 47% from 667 mbu at this time a year ago
· Consultant: Safrinha (double crop) corn harvest is complete in central Brazil & should be done in Parana w/in 2 weeks
SOYBEANS/WHEAT
· T-storm Weather: Hurricane Harvey makes landfall in Texas tonight. A high chance for heavy rain along the southern fringe of U.S. soybeans tapers to a low chance with northeastward extent over Wed.-Fri. (Aug. 30 - Sep. 1)
· ATI Research: Combined unshipped export sales of U.S. old-crop and new-crop soybeans as of Aug. 17 stood at 512 mbu, which is down 35% from 783 mbu this time a year ago
· CBT Sept. 2017 wheat futures on Thursday made a new contract low of $4.00 ¾, but closed $0.05 ¾ higher at $4.09
· ATI Research: Unshipped export sales of U.S. all wheat as of Aug. 17 stood at 188 mbu, which is 14% lower from 218 mbu this time a year ago. Largest declines by class are being seen for HRW (-30%) and HRS (-21%); SRW is down 13%
ENERGY
· Mixed: CLV17, +$0.33 @ $47.66; EBV, +$0.34 @ $52.38; EBV-QCLV, +.01; RBU, +.0511; NGU, -.016; HOU, +.0223
· A mostly weaker trend was evident in cash ethanol markets on Thursday: Chicago off 1 5/8; New York fell 3; Gulf down 1 ¾; Dallas declined 1 ½; Tampa eased 1 ¼; but LA was 2 ½ higher at $1.74 ½ per gallon
· Ethanol RINs were lower on Thursday: 2016’s and 2017’s declined 2 to 86-88
· The Sep RBOB/Sep ethanol spread again surged, up $.0552 to +$.15410/gallon
LIVESTOCK/POULTRY  
· Choice boxed beef values declined 58-cents on Thursday to $191.75 and are $3.88 lower compared to last week
· Pre-report estimates for today’s Cattle on Feed: Aug. 1 On-Feed 104.7%, July Placed 105.9% & July Marketed 104.6%
· USDA mandatory pork carcass cutout was $1.10 loweron Thursday at $86.37 and is down $4.76 vs. a week ago
· CME Lean Hog Index fell $1.09 on Thu. to $79.40. October futures firmed $0.225 but are still $15.625 below the index
Sources: Bloomberg, Dow Jones, AP, DTN, T-storm Weather