Housing Starts and Permits & EIA Energy Stocks
We jump start the day with Housing Starts and Permits at 7:30 A.M., EIA Energy Stocks at 9:30 A.M. and Dairy Product Sales at 2:00 P.M. The Grains took another pummeling in yesterday’s action. And one would have to ask, “How much more downside is there”? I am guessing with hot humid weather the next couple of days followed by a cold front we will be talking early frost before you know it. One would think there is not a lot of downside for commercials and funds to step on the accelerator much harder. In the overnight electronic session the September Corn is currently trading at 355 ¾ which is a ½ of a cent higher. The trading range has been 356 ¾ to 354 ¾.
On the ethanol front rolls to the October contract from September is advancing with the September contract posting a trade at 1.549 which is .002 of a cent lower. The Open Interest is at 675 contracts while the October contract posted a trade at 1.528 with growing Open Interest at 675 contracts.
On the crude oil front as expected with heavy Tropical Storm activity in the Atlantic the API showed a huge draw in Crude Oil of 9.2 million barrels, Cushing, Oklahoma showed builds of 1.7 million barrels, Gasoline stocks showed builds of 301 thousand barrels, Distillates showed draws of 2.1 million barrels while the government is again releasing Oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) which is thwarting any big rally for now. In the overnight electronic session the September Crude Oil is currently trading at 4772 which is 17 points higher. The trading range has been 4794 to 4762. I anticipate large draws on the EIA Energy Stocks even though the data might not be as dramatic as the API data.
On the natural gas front cooler temperatures forecasted are clamping down on any rallies for the moment. There are three Tropical Storms developing in the Atlantic two of which cones show the path headed directly to the Gulf of Mexico that investors are tracking. In the overnight electronic session the September Natural Gas is currently trading at 2.925 which is 1 cent lower. The trading range has been 2.931 to 2.893.