Jeff Wilson reporting for Bloomberg said that samples taken from corn fields in three northeast counties of Eastern Nebraska showed averages of 149.9 bushels per acre down from 183.6 in 2015. Corn yields in six eastern South Dakota counties averaged 176.4 bu/acre in the past two days down from 185.6 last year and the three year average of 180.3. Samples from five fields in Southwest Minnesota showed yields averaging 200 bu/acre up from an average of 194.6 bushels in 2015. The three year average is 202.5. “Minnesota showed excellent results after disappointing samples in Northwest Iowa,” Joao Pessoa, researcher at Sao-Paulo based Raizen S.A. said after touring Jackson, Cottonwood, Lyon, Redwood and Lincoln counties. In the overnight electronic session the September corn is currently trading at 326, which is 1 3/3 of a cent higher. The trading range has been 326 ¾ to 323 ½ so far. Today we have weekly Export Inspections and Crop Progress and let’s not forget Friday’s Monthly Crop Production Supply/Demand report.
On the ethanol front the September contract is currently trading at 1.409 which is .004 of a cent lower. The trading range has been 1.410 to 1.409 in the overnight electronic session. Looks like profit taking from Friday’s spike.
On the crude oil front, analyst agree that we may have seen the bottom last week with the low below $40 a barrel, which the last time we saw that was in April when refineries were switching to summertime blends. With rig counts not decaying at the rate they were and more coming online expect higher crude oil prices and Gasoline will follow suit. Wednesday's API weekly data could lend a hand to the bulls and we are also watching a tropical disturbance located a few hundred miles northeast of the Bahamas, which could threaten the Gulf of Mexico. In the overnight electronic session the September crude oil is currently trading at 4267, which is 87 points higher. The trading range has been 4271 to 4181 in the early going.
On the natural gas front, the market is retreating but you can expect with the coming heat dome we are expecting there will be a turnaround and we could test $3.00. In the overnight electronic session the September contract is currently trading at 2.722, which is 4 cents lower. The trading range has been 2.750 to 2.711 so far. This market is also monitoring the disturbance in the Atlantic, which is a low risk at the moment.
Have a Great Trading Day!