Good Morning!
Will today be a Grain trader’s paradise? Starting at 7:30 A.M. we have Export Sales and Initial Jobless Claims. At 9:30 A.M. we have the EIA Gas Storage, which should show a draw of 150 bcf. At 11:00 A.M. the Grain complex bonanza with Crop Production, Grain Stocks, USDA Supply/Demand and Winter Wheat Seedings. Tomorrow is Last Trading Day on all January Grains and traders are pondering what to expect from today’s reports, with plenty of Grain stocks and Exports moving rapidly. Could we see some further support with export news? In the overnight electronic session the March corn is currently trading at 355 ¼, which is 2 cents lower the trading range has been 357 ½ to 355.
On the Ethanol front there were no trades posted in the overnight electronic session. The February contract settled at 1.492 and is currently showing 1 bid @ 1.479 and 1 offer @ 1.497 with Open Interest at 3.727 contracts.
On the Crude Oil front the market seems to have shrugged it’s shoulders with yesterday’s bearish inventory data. Pontificates are calling for cheaper oil and gas prices as the new administration should be more energy friendly with less regulations and the prospect of more drilling on federal lands. Also, projects with pipelines which will really move the infrastructure to the new century as we have seen it is safer to move this liquid dynamite by pipeline rather than rail. Not only will this complement safety and transportation cost but will create jobs. Although this seems to spell out cheaper prices but do not forget the emerging markets in Asia namely China and India will create the most demand in our history. In the overnight electronic session the February Crude Oil is currently trading at 5321, which is 95 points higher. The trading range has been 5324 to 5212.
On the Natural Gas front we have temperatures dropping and more winter weather upon us. We also have the weekly EIA Gas Storage report today. The market seems to be bracing for a bullish number in today’s data and the inclement weather forecasted could spark a rally. A Thomson Reuters poll of 19 analyst predict draws in the injection number from 125 bcf to 152 bcf with the median of 144 bcf. This compares to the 1-year of 175 bcf and the five-year of 170 bcf. In the overnight electronic session the February Natural Gas is currently trading at 3.324 which is 10 cents higher. The trading range has been 3.360 to 3.294. This should be a busy day.
Buckle up.