HIGHLIGHTS
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MARKET TREND—Lower: CK, -$.0075; SK, -$.0125; WK, -$.0275; KWK, -$.0250
· MACRO: Not much news with nervousness over U.S. trade policy in the forefront; Italian elections reveal no clear winner. Asia: Mostly lower: Nikkei, -0.29%; Shanghai, +0.51%; Hang Seng, -2.28%. EUROPE: Higher: DAX, +0.88%; FTSE, +0.36%; CAC, +0.40%. WALL STREET: Mostly weaker—DOW, -14; S&P, -2.25; NAS, +13.25. EXTERNALS: $ Index: +.-49 @ 89.955; Mar Gold: +$3.10 @ $1,324; Apr crude: +$.34 @ $61.59. Deliveries: SBM, 150; SBO, 402; RR, 0; C, 525; HRW, 33; O, 0; SB, 530
· T-storm Weather: In Argentina, weekend weather was within expectations of Friday’sreport with isolated thunderstorms on Sunday. Dry weather is forecast through at leastFriday. A strong system then passes March 10-11 & triggers widely scattered thunderstorms, especially south where 0.20”-0.50” is most likely, but less-so central and north. In Brazil, widespread coverage of near- and above-normal rainfall occurs in central and northern areas over the next 2 weeks. Southern areas stay dry this week
· CK, down $.0075 @ $3.8450; CN, down $.01 @ $3.9150. The funds were modest sellers on Friday, 3 K
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SK, dn $.0125 @ $10.6975; SN, dn $.0175 @ $10.7750 Funds: bot 2K SB, sold 4K SBM, 2K SBO. Board crush: $1.49, --8; LY: $.56
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WK, down $.0275 @ $4.9725; WN, down $.03 @ $5.1150. The funds closed out the week selling 8 K despite little weather chge
CORN/SORGHUM
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March 2018 corn futures on Fri. traded to $3.80 ¼, the highest price since Aug. 16, but closed $.01 ½ lower at $3.77 ¼
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T-storm Weather: On the heels of projected rainfall in Argentina on March 10-11, another system potentially follows a few days later but numerous uncertainties exist with a lack of humidity again likely to limit coverage &/or amounts
· Private estimates of Argentina corn production are declining with many suggesting at least a modest (1.0-2.0 MMT) reduction will be seen in Thursday’s USDA Supply/Demand report from the February estimate of 39.0 MMT
· Export Inspections released at 10 am CST: Corn 49.8 mbu needed; 51.4 last week. Milo—5.8 needed; 2.3 last week
SOYBEANS/WHEAT
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March 2018 soybean futures on Fri. traded to $10.71, the highest price for nearby soybean futures since Jan. 20, 2017
· T-storm Weather: In Argentina, only 0.50”-1.00” of rainfall is likely over the next two weeks to compared to the normal total of ~3.00". This causes rainfall over Feb. 1 - March 15 to crush the prior record for soybean dryness
· Private estimates of Argentina soybean production are declining with most suggesting a significant reduction will be seen in Thursday’s USDA Supply/Demand report from the February estimate of 54.0 MMT
· Export Inspections released at 10 am CST: Wheat, 21.1 mbu needed compared to 10.3 last week
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T-storm Weather: Rain/snow affect wheat across central U.S. over the next 2 weeks, except in the southwest Plains
ENERGY
· Mixed: CLJ18, +$.34 @ $61.59; EBK, +$.22 @ $64.59; EBK-QCLK, -$0.10; RBJ, -.0044;NGJ, -.013; HOJ, -.0022
· On Friday, cash ethanol markets were weaker: Chicago was quoted at $1.4590, down $0.01225; Basis to Chicago—New York, +8 ½; Gulf, +11; Dallas, +3 ½; Tampa, +14 ½; and LA, +20
· On Friday, ethanol RINs declined sharply: 2016’s dn 7 at 46-52; 2017’s off 7 at 48-54; & 2018’s fell 6 ¾ to 49-55
· The April RBOB/Mar ethanol spread closed with $.0170 additional carry+$.4434/gallon Friday
LIVESTOCK/POULTRY  
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Choice boxed beef values were 22-cents higher on Friday at $222.52, and are up $4.15 compared to last week
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Since Feb. 13, choice boxed beef has increased $15.16 (7.3%) and is at the highest level since July 5
· USDA mandatory pork carcass cutout value firmed 65-cents on Friday to $77.18, but is $1.34 lower vs. a week ago
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CME Lean Hog Index fell $0.27 on Friday to $68.09. April futures gained $0.60, but is still $0.515 below the index
Sources: Bloomberg, Dow Jones, AP, DTN, T-storm Weather