On the corn front, we ended up mixed in yesterday’s action. There is expected there will be no deliveries in July, and whispers the commercials are short July corn and unable to buy corn. Traders differ on the acreage numbers as some expect an increase in US corn acreage, and others say not so fast in this growing season.
It was a busier than usual planting season with the weather, and analysts and traders were thinking those thoughts. Another wrinkle is the news that Ukraine is retaking the Snake Islands, a strategic post, and most likely will take back the sea lanes in the Black Sea. I cannot confirm how deep in the crop that can be exported. In the overnight electronic session, the December Corn is currently trading at 646 ¾, which is 7 cents lower. The trading range has been 653 ¾ to 646 ¼. Buckle (NYSE:BKE) Up Your Chinstrap at 11:00 A.M.
On the ethanol front, no major headlines we have not heard before. The good news is a kind gesture from the Sheetz chain over the 4th of July weekend to give drivers a break this busy holiday traffic weekend. How American is that? Take a bow, and God Bless the people at Sheetz. There were no trades or open interest in ethanol futures.
On the crude oil front, profit-taking and end of the quarter selloff in the early in the going. No other headline I see this morning. In the overnight electronic session, the August crude oil is currently trading at 10844, which is 134 points lower. The trading range has been 11045 to 10837.
On thenatural gas front, the market is eyeing a tropical storm that most likely not be named but could wreak havoc on the coasts of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida. The market in the early going is not pricing in the risk, or maybe some are expecting little or no damage in the refinery row. And we have the Gas Storage and the Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI) poll with 15 analysts participating estimates injections ranging from 68 bcf to 80 bcf with a mean increase of 72 bcf and the hard number 74 bcf. This compares to the one-year injection of 25 bcf and the five-year average of 60 bcf. In the overnight electronic session, the August natural gas is currently trading at 6.458, which is o.040 lower. The trading range has been 6.530 to 6.312.
God Bless Hershel “Woody” Williams, who passed away. Woody was the last surviving Congressional Medal of Honor recipient from WW II.