Good Morning!
We kickoff February with Export Sales and Jobless Claims at 7:30 A.M., Construction Spending and ISM Manufacturing Index at 9:00 A.M., EIA Gas Storage at 9:30 A.M. and Cotton System, Dairy Products, Fats & Oils and Grain Crushings at 2:00 P.M. On the Corn front you just can’t trust Mother Nature or the weather forecasts. A drought in Argentina without a cloud in sight produced rains that caught investors leaning and they were picked off. How does this happen? Fake News? Market Manipulation? Well whatever weather module you believe don’t bank on it or bet the farm on it. We are all hoping for an increase in U.S. exports and expect demand to lower the carryover. In the overnight electronic session the March Corn is currently trading at 360 ½, which is 1 cent lower. The trading range has been 361 to 359 ¾. Let’s hope exports pick up and watch the drought monitor as we may have a busy growing season in the U.S.
On the Ethanol front the March contract is currently trading at 1.410, which is .008 of a cent higher. The trading range has been 1.416 to 1.410 with 2 contracts traded and Open Interest at 1,804 contracts. The market is currently showing 1 bid @ 1.409 and 2 offers @ 1.414.
On the Crude Oil front global demand will not keep this market down. With or without the rise in production, investors are scratching their heads and asking, “Where has this Oil glut gone?” Well sports fans when demand diminishes supplies you must replenish those supplies and when demand is out pacing what production can meet, abracadabra we must be in another super-cycle. In the overnight electronic session the March Crude Oil is currently trading at 6548 which is 75 points higher. The trading range has been 6553 to 6453.
On the Natural Gas front we have the weekly EIA Gas Storage this morning and the Thomson Reuters weekly poll with 25 analysts participating expect draws anywhere from 90 bcf to 120 bcf with the median 104 bcf. This compares to last week’s decline of 288 bcf, the one-year of 92 bcf and the five-year average decline of 160 bcf. With plenty of product that has capacity filled to the brim cold weather is no longer scaring bears in this stage of the game or winter as we move closer to shoulder season. In the overnight electronic session the March contract is currently trading at 2.905, which is 9 cents lower. The trading range has been 2.978 to 2.902.
Have a Great Trading Day!