Good Morning!
Could it be turnaround Tuesday? As the FED made it pretty clear, they will raise rates on the Ides of March, next Wednesday, the 15th of the month. This morning we have U.S. Trade Balance followed in the afternoon with Consumer Credit at 2:00 P.M. and API Energy Stocks at 3:30 P.M.
On the Corn front investors are gearing up for Thursdays Crop Production USDA Supply/Demand data and also monitoring the progress in Brazil recovering from the rains that washed out roads making it difficult for truckers to move their load to port for shipping. On the other hand the rains were a benefit to Argentina, which gave much needed moisture. In the overnight electronic session the May Corn is currently trading at 377, which is 1 ½ of a cent lower. The trading range has been 379 ¾ to 376 ¾.
On the Ethanol front there were no trades posted in the overnight electronic session. The April contract settled at 1.506 and the market is currently showing 5 bids @ 1.495 and 1 offer @ 1.513 with Open Interest at 2,450 contracts.
On the Crude Oil front big news Saudi Aramco will pay Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDSa) 2.2 billion dollars to finalize the breakup of their two-decade Motiva Enterprises refining partnership in the U.S. The deal will give Saudi Arabia sole control over the largest refinery in the U.S. producing 600,000 barrels a day in Port Arthur, Texas. Aramco will take full ownership of Motiva Enterprises LLC name and legal entity. Saudi Arabia will also get 24 distribution terminals. Shell will assume sole ownership of Norco and Convent refineries in Louisiana as well as the 11 distribution terminals. The key part of this deal was Motiva’s 3.2 billion in net debt. These buyouts and mergers are reminiscent of the beginning of a bull market as I recall the 80s and 90s history of the bottom when Exxon (NYSE:XOM) merged with Mobile the breakup of Texaco to name a couple. In the overnight electronic session the April Crude Oil is currently trading at 5344, which is 24 points higher. The trading range has been 5350 to 5302.
On the Natural Gas front the market is pulling back on the reigns after a nice move in yesterday’s action. Incoming inclement weather will be a key for as long it will last. In the overnight electronic session the April Natural Gas is currently trading at 2.846, which is 5 ½ cents lower. The trading range has been 2.890 to 2.833.
Have a Great Trading Day