HIGHLIGHTS
· MARKET TREND—Weaker: CU: down$.0375; SU: down $.0850; WU: down $.0625; KWU: down $.0850
· MACRO: Stocks edge higher as geopolitical worries ease. ASIA—Mostly higher: Nikkei, -0.98%; Shanghai,+0.88%; Hang Seng, +1.36%. EUROPE: Higher: DAX, +1.09; FTSE, +0.53; CAC, -0.92%. WALL STREET—Futures are higher—DOW, +93; S&P, +13.75; NAS, +34.00. EXTERNALS: $ Index: +.289 @ 93.245; Sep Gold: -$7.60 @ $1,281; Oct crude: -$.36 @ $48.61/bl. Dely: SBM, 115; SBO, 79; SB, 98
· T-storm Weather: The cool pattern of recent weeks will be replaced by slightly above-normal warmth & mugginess over the next 5-7 days. Weakening systems move across the Corn Belt & Delta through today to kick-off the warmer pattern, followed by the passage of a large & substantial system over Tue.-Fri. with the end result being for widespread rain of 0.75”-1.50” for most corn and soybeans through late-week; highest coverage across eastern third of Plains, southern Delta & MN, lowest in IN, MI & OH
· CU, down $.0375 @ $3.57; CZ, down $.04 @ $3.7075. Friday found the funds buying 3 K
· SU, down $.0850 @ $9.2975; SX, down $.09 @ $9.36. Funds: Bought 2 SB, 3 SBM, sold 3 SBO. Board crush: $.92,+4; LY, $.85
· WU, down $.0625 @ $4.33; WZ, down $.0650 @ $4.6050. Fund selling totaled 3 K on Friday
CORN/SORGHUM
· Consultant: USDA Crop Progress report—U.S. Corn Good/Excellent est. at 59-61% v. 60% last week and 74% last year
· ATI Research: Crop Progress—The 5-year average for U.S. corn dough increases approximately 18% from Aug. 6-13 to 62%. The 5-year average for U.S. corn dent increases approximately 9% to 20%.
· T-storm Weather: All areas turn much warmer from Aug. 19-26, leading to above-normal highs in the 80s-90s. Scattered thunderstorms are probable; best chances within the northern half of corn production
· Export Inspections released at 10 am CDT; Corn, 26.4 mbu needed; 38.5 last week. Milo—0.8 needed; 4.2 last week
SOYBEANS/WHEAT
· Consultant: USDA Crop Progress report—U.S. Soybean Good/Excellent est. at 59-61% v. 60% last week & 72% last year
· ATI Research: Crop Progress—The 5-year average for U.S. soybeans setting pods increases approximately 13% from Aug. 6-13 to 75%
· T-storm Weather: Rain for Aug. 19-26 may be disrupted by a hurricane near FL, limiting totals; 0.50”-1.00” most likely
· Export Inspections released at 10 am CDT; Soybeans, 31.4 mbu needed; 25.2 last week
· Export Inspections released at 10 am CDT; Wheat, 17.9 mbu needed; 21.5 last week
· ATI Research: 5-year avg. for U.S. spring wheat harvest progress increases approx. 14% from Aug. 6-13 to 35%
ENERGY
· Lower: CLV17, -$0.36 @ $48.61; EBV, -$0.35 @ $51.73;EBV-QCLV, +.01; RBU, -.0163; NGU, +.025; HOU, -.0110
· Cash ethanol markets reflected a firmer trend on Friday: Chicago, Dallas and Gulf added 2 ½; New York gained 1; Tampa increased 2; and LA was 2 higher at $1.76 per gallon
· Ethanol RINs were higher on Friday: 2016’s and 2017’s increased 1 ¾ to 91-93
· The Sep RBOB/Sep ethanol spread narrowed $.0148 on Friday to +$.03800/gallon, premium ETOH
LIVESTOCK/POULTRY ;
·   Choice boxed beef values declined $1.03 on Friday to $199.60, and are $4.01 lower compared to a week ago
· Dressed steer weight for week end July 29: 875 lbs, up 7 lbs v. last week, 866 for 4-week avg. and 883 last year
· USDA mandatory pork carcass cutout value fell $1.06 on Friday to $93.66, and is down $1.68 vs. last week
· CME Lean Hog Index was down $0.26 on Fri. to $85.24. August futures firmed $0.20, but are $0.59 below the index
Sources: Bloomberg, Dow Jones, AP, DTN, T-storm Weather