#9 is Officially Tropical Storm Hermine
Now Tropical Storm Hermine is following the trajectory that forecaster predicted moving north-northeast at 10 knots. The cone has the storm making late tonight or early tomorrow in the Florida Panhandle region. The threat level has gone down significantly to the Crude Oil and Natural Gas hubs and they can get back up to speed shortly. There is another Disturbance in the eastern Atlantic that could pose a threat to the gulf region in the coming weeks. In the overnight electronic session the October Natural Gas is currently trading at 2.867 which is 2 cents lower. The trading range has been 2.882 to 2.859. Today’s weekly EIA Gas Storage data may have a slight wrinkle due to disruptions with storm activity in the region the past couple of weeks.
On the Ethanol front the October contract posted 1 trade at 1.406 which is .004 of a cent higher. Estimated Open Interest is 1,892 contracts and the market is currently showing 1 bid at 1.406 and 1 offer at 1.428. The September contract settled at 1.415 and is showing 1 bid at 1.426 and 1 offer at 1.548. The Open Interest is on the decline which is estimated at 40 contracts as we move close to expiration.
On the Corn front the market seemed to find psychological resistance at the $3 level. We will have cooler temperatures the next couple of days but we be back to above normal temperatures next week which could spark a September short covering rally. In the overnight electronic session the December Corn is currently trading at 318 ¼ which is 2 ¾ cents higher. The trading range has been 319 ¼ to 315.
On the Crude Oil front the selloff was mainly U.S. dollar related and I expect this market to bounce as well because a lot of investors will not want to carry a heavy short position going into the Labor Day weekend. This is of course, we have no major surprise in tomorrow’s Unemployment and U.S. Trade Balance. In the overnight electronic session the October Crude Oil is currently trading at 4457 which is 13 points lower. The trading range has been 4508 to 4453 and the market is looking a little heavy at this point as maybe a new headline must of broke. This morning we have Exports Sales and Initial Jobless Claims at 7:30 A.M. followed with Construction Spending and ISM Manufacturing Index at 9:00 A.M. The EIA Gas Storage at 9:30 A.M and later in the afternoon Dairy Products, Fats & Oils and Grain Crushings.