HIGHLIGHTS
· MARKET TREND—Weaker: CH, down $.0075; SH, down $.06; WH, down $.0075; KWH, down $.01
· MACRO: Global stocks are mostly steady—Fed expresses uncertainty over Trump’s policies—join the club, new meaning to “volatility”?. ASIA—Yuan rises sharply; Nikkei-0.37%; Hang Seng, +1.46%; Shanghai, +0.21%. EUROPE—weaker: FTSE, -0.05%; DAX, -0.10%; CAC, -0.04%. Wall STREET: Futures slightly lower: DOW, -1; S&P, -1.50; NASDAQ, -5.25. EXTERNALS: $ Index, -0.314 @102.395; Jan Gold, +$11.90 @ $1,175.70; Feb Crude, +$0.28 @ $53.54. Deliveries: SBM, 96; SBO, 395; SB, 500
· T-storm Weather: In Argentina, heavy thunderstorms turn northern areas wet intoFriday. Although dry weather occurs to the south, several systems flow eastward from this weekend forward, triggering thunderstorms every 1-3 days, and resulting in at least near-normal rain through 10 days–except in driest areas of/near southwest Buenos Aires. High pressure suppresses rain across the northeast ~10% of first-crop corn and soybean production in Brazil over the next 10 days; rain occurs elsewhere
· Corn: CH down $.0075 @ $3.59; CK down $.0075 @ $3.65. The funds bought 4 K yesterday
· SB: SH down $.06 @ $10.0925; SK, dn $.06 @ $10.1750. Funds—Bot 7 SB, 3 SBM, 2 SBO. Board Crush: $.74, -$.01; LY, $.56
· Wheat: WH down $.0075 @ $4.1775; WK down $.0050 @ $4.2875. Fund buying totaled 3.5 K Wednesday  
CORN/SORGHUM
·   T-storm Weather: In Argentina, strong thunderstorms slowly shift north into Fri., producing 1.75”-3.50” of rain (locally more) within northeast third of growing area, including northern fringes of excessively-wet corn in Cordoba, Santa Fe
· Consultant: In a worst case scenario, ~5% of the corn in Argentina might be lost to flooding or not get planted
· ATI Research: The past 4-week average export sales pace for U.S. corn is a record, which suggests that export shipments of corn over the next four weeks may average 40+ mbu per week—the 2nd highest for the period
· EIA report at 10:00 AM CST. Ethanol production last week was 1,028,000 barrels per day & last year’s was 996,000
SOYBEANS/WHEAT
· Consultant: A few early maturing soybeans have already been harvested in Mato Grosso, Brazil (the country’s top soybean producing state) with reports of better than expected yields
· T-storm Weather: Key soybean areas of Mato Grosso will be drier than normal over the next week, marking a continuation of the fairly dry pattern than began 2-3 weeks ago, but likely turn considerably wetter Jan. 9-11 forward
· ATI Research: U.S. HRW export sales over the last 4 weeks totaled 27 mbu, which is 17% above the 10-year average
· T-storm Weather: In the U.S., dry and mild weather is forecast next week in key HRW wheat areas of the Plains
ENERGY
· Higher: CLG17, +$0.28 @ $53.54; EBH, +$0.32; EBH-CLH, $2.24, $0.00; RBG, -$.0067;NGG, +$0.024; HOG, +$.0027
· EIA estimates (API): Crude oil, -2.0 (-7.4); Gasoline, +1.3 (+4.3); Distillates, +0.5 (+5.2)
· Significant declines were seen in cash ethanol markets Wednesday: Chicago off 6 ½; New York slid 9 ¼; Gulf down 6; Tampa fell 5 ½; Dallas slipped 7 ½; and LA was 8 lower at $1.68 per gallon
· Ethanol RINs were lower: 2015’s, 2016’s and 2017’s all declined 2 ¾ to 78-83 ½
· The Feb RBOB/Jan ethanol spread gained $.0871 in yesterday’s trade, increasing to +$0.13890/gallon, premium RBOB
LIVESTOCK/POULTRY
· Choice boxed beef values increased 32-cents on Wednesday to $203.65, and are up $1.81 compared to last week
· Light-to-moderate cash cattle trading occurred Wed.; sales in the South pegged at $117 to $118—steady to $1 lower
· USDA mandatory pork carcass cutout value declined $1.73 on Wed. to $78.38, and is $2.66 lower vs. a week ago
· CME Lean Hog Index firmed $0.11 to $57.58. February futures were $1.10 higher and are $7.02 above the index
Sources: Bloomberg, Dow Jones, AP, DTN, T-storm Weather