Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) will report 3rd-quarter earnings before the bell and investors and will be wondering about continued weakness in new sales while the stock market will brace for the Consumer Confidence data. In the overnight electronic session the December corn is currently trading at 349 ¼, which is 1 cent higher. The trading range has been 349 ¾ to 347 ¾. USDA weekly Crop Progress shows that the Corn harvest is 60 % complete.
On the Ethanol front there were no trades posted in the overnight electronic session. The November contract settled at 1.606 and is currently posting 5 bids @ 1.580 and 1 offer @ 1.629 with dwindling Open Interest at 588 contracts.
On the Crude Oil front comments from the Iraqi Oil Minister prompted a selloff in yesterday’s trading session to a low of 4962 but did recover closing at 5052, which was a bullish sign closing above $50 a barrel. In the overnight electronic session the December contract is currently trading at 5075 which is 23 points higher. The trading range has been 5093 to 5037. Tonight’s API data could show more draws.
On the Natural Gas front the November contract expires on Thursday with the EIA Gas Storage coming out the same day. In the overnight electronic session the November contract is currently trading at 2.831, which is unchanged. The trading range has been 2.879 to 2.809. Cooler temperatures should be supportive to the market.