HIGHLIGHTS
· MARKET TREND—Weaker: CK, down $.0125; SK, down $.05; WK, down $.0175; KWK, down $.0250. CONAB out at 6 CST
· MACRO—Awaiting ECB announcement, earnings & initial jobless claims. ASIA—Mostly lower. Nikkei, +0.34%; Shanghai, -0.74%; Hang Seng, -1.18%; EUROPE—Lower: FTSE, -0.79%; DAX, -0.30%; CAC, -0.33%. Wall STREET-futures are lower: DOW, -42; S&P, -3.75; NAS, -7.25. EXTERNALS: $ Index, +0.004 @ 102.080; Gold, -$4.50 @ $1,205; and April Crude, -1.24 @ $49.04. Del’y: C, 10; SB, 254; SBM, 228; SBO, 720; HRW, 0; SRW, 134; ETOH, 0
· T-storm Weather: Heavy thunderstorms affect much of Argentina Wed.-Thu., followed by a few more thunderstorms through There are no changes to the T-storm Weather Outlook with heavy t-storms affecting all of Argentina today, then Rio Grande do Sul Thu.-Fri. A secondary round of t-storms affects northern Argentina and Rio Grande do Sul Sun.-Mon., followed by an expansion of dry (and cool) weather next week. Much of Brazil will be drier than normal over the next five to seven days.
· Corn: CK down $.0125 @ $3.71; CH down $.0050 @ $3.6475. The funds sold 4 K at mid-week
· SB: SK dn $.05 @ $10.1675; SH: dn $.0650 @ $10.05. Funds: sold 3 SB, 0 SBM, 1 SBO. Board Crush: 0.76, +2; LY; $.58
· Wheat: WK, down $.0175 @ $4.4525; WH, up $.05 @ $4.3250. Fund selling totaled 3 K on Wednesday
CORN/SORGHUM
· USDA WASDE at 11:00 CST: Avg. trade est U.S. corn carryout--16/17, 2.321 bbu (range 2.245-2.440) and 2.320 in Feb.
· USDA WASDE: Avg. trade est world corn carryout--16/17, 218.8 MMT (range 217.0-223.1) and 217.6 in Feb.
· USDA WASDE: Avg. trade est. 16/17 Brazil corn crop, 87.6 MMT (86.5 in Feb); Argentina corn, 36.6 MMT (36.5 Feb)
· Export Sales to be released at 7:30 AM CST. Trade expects 28-39 for 16/17 corn
· ATI Research: Corn exports from Brazil may remain minimal until August after the safrinha (double crop ) corn harvest is completed
SOYBEANS/WHEAT
· USDA WASDE at 11:00 CST: Avg. est U.S. soybean carryout--16/17, 0.415 bbu (range 0.395-0.444) & 0.420 in Feb.
· USDA WASDE: Avg. trade est world soybean carryout--16/17, 81.5 MMT (range 80.0-83.0) and 80.4 in Feb.
· USDA WASDE: Avg. trade est. 16/17 Brazil soybean crop, 106.1 MMT (104.0 Feb); Argentina soy, 55.1 MMT (55.5)
· Export Sales report. Trade expects 13-20 mbu for 16/17 soybeans; soymeal, 100-250 K MT; soyoil, 8-30
· USDA WASDE at 11:00 CST: Avg. est U.S. all wheat carryout--16/17, 1.142 bbu (range 1.120-1.199) and 1.139 in Feb.
· USDA WASDE: Avg. trade est world wheat carryout--16/17, 249.1 MMT (range 246.0-255.0) and 248.6in Feb.
· Export Sales report. Trade expects 11-18 mbu for 16/17 all wheat
ENERGY
· Lower!: CLJ17, -$1.24 @ $49.04; EBK, -$1.36; EBK-CLK, $2.09, -$0.19; RBJ, -$.0372;NGJ, -$0.008; HOJ, -$.0280
· Cash ethanol markets drifted lower, led by a 3 ½ cent decline in LA to $1.57 ½; Dallas & Tampa were each ½ lower; the Gulf and Chicago lost 3/8’s with the latter at $1.42; NY was off 1/8 of a cent
· Ethanol RINs gained ¾ of a cent: 2015’s were 36 ½ -37 ½; 2016’s were 37 ½ -38 ½; 2017’s, 37 ½ to $.39
· The April RBOB/Apr ethanol spread settled at +$0.1676/gallon, off $.0212 per gallon & premium RBOB
LIVESTOCK/POULTRY    
· Choice boxed beef values increased $1.61 on Wednesday to $213.61, which is the highest level since June 24, 2016
· Light cash cattle trade on Wed.; South at mostly $125, steady with last week, North $200 to $202, steady to +$2
· USDA mandatory pork carcass cutout was $0.69 lower on Wed. at $80.79, but is up $0.02 compared to a week ago
· CME Lean Hog Index fell $0.09 on Wed. to $72.60. April futures firmed $0.375, but are $4.175 below the index
Sources: Bloomberg, Dow Jones, AP, DTN, T-storm Weather