Happy Columbus Day!
Hurricane Matthew is in the rearview mirror after making landfall and ponding North and South Carolina with heavy rains and flooding. Tropical Storm Nicole is trolling a meandering path in the Atlantic moving north at 6 knots and does not look to pose a threat to the eastern seaboard at the moment. This week’s weather forecast for the Plains and Mid-west call for mostly dry and cooler temperatures until Sunday, which could dry up the wet fields farmers had to contend with. In the overnight electronic session the December corn is currently trading at 340 ¾, which is 1 cent higher. The trading range has been 341 ¼ to 339 ¼. I do expect light volume in today’s holiday market.
On the ethanol front there were no trades posted in the overnight electronic session. The November contract settled at 1.517 and is currently showing 2 bids @ 1.467 and no offers with an Open Interest of 2,279 contracts.
On the crude oil front the market is trading on headlines ahead of the OPEC and Non-OPEC nations attendees can persuade a workable agreement which will give the go-ahead to serious production cuts. In the overnight electronic session the November crude oil is currently trading at 5036, which is 55 points higher. The trading range has been 5042 to 4915.
On the natural gas front just seemed to lose its bullish edge after trading steady to a few tics higher early in the overnight electronic session. The November contract is currently trading at 3.178, which is 1 ½ of a cent lower. The trading range has been 3.196 to 3.154. Keep in mind we are in shoulder season and volume ought to be light today.