Closer To Close On 2019
Good Morning!
We started the day with U.S. Trade Balance coming in at $-63.19B with the Consensus at $-68.75B and the Forecast at $-69.9B while Wholesale Trade came in at 0% with the Consensus and Forecast at 3%. At 8:45 we have Chicago PMI, 9:00 A.M. Pending Home Sales, 9:30 A.M. Dallas Fed Manufacturing Index, 10:30 A.M. wee have the 3 & 6-month Bill Auction and at 12:00 P.M. we have the 52-Week Bill Auction. After spending the Christmas holiday in Southern (NYSE:SO) Wisconsin I was able to evaluate some of the Corn fields. I did see some fields that have yet to be touched by a tiller as this crazy weather of 2019 and difficult trade deals were the story of this year. This gave a wacky spin on the markets this year and I anticipate a more bullish prosperous 2020 with trade deals in place. Before you know it pitchers and catchers will be reporting which means planting season is not far away. In the overnight electronic session the March Corn is currently trading at 391 ½, which is 1 ½ of a cent higher. The trading range has been 392 to 388.
On the Ethanol front stocks have slipped to a 3-week low even as output has jumped. This could be a telling sign of Energy prices in the future with hopes of exporting to China. There were no trades posted in the overnight electronic session. The February contract settled at 1.420 and is currently showing 2 bids @ 1.404 AND 3 Offers @ 1.430 with Open Interest at 440 contracts.
On the Crude Oil front the market continues to rally after last week’s large draws on stockpiles. We also have geo-political risks with China, Iran and Russia conducting Naval exercises in the Gulf of Oman. This is just a reminder how delicate peace can be. In the overnight electronic session the February Crude Oil is currently trading at 6209 which is 37 points higher. The trading range has been 6234 to 6164.
On the Natural Gas front the market is a tad higher with December temperatures coming back just before January. In the overnight electronic session the February Natural Gas is currently trading at 2.234, which is .003 higher. The trading range has been 2.258 to 2.204.
Have a Great Trading Day!