Happy Birthday Honest Abe!
Good Morning!
MBA Mortgage Applications came in at 1.1% vs. the previous 5%, MBA 30-Year Mortgage Rate came in at 3.72% vs. the previous 3.71% at 6:00 A.M., We have the Fed Harker Speech at 7:30 A.M., Fed Chair Jerome Powell testimony to the Senate at 9:00 A.M., EIA Energy Stocks at 9:30 A.M., 10-Year Auction at 12:00 P.M., Monthly Budget Statement at 1:00 P.M. and Dairy Product Sales at 2:00 P.M. On the Corn front the Crop Production USDA Supply/Demand and WASDE reports did little to spark any bullish enthusiasm. Carryout was left unchanged from January and Argentina Corn prices for export are at a discount to U.S. prices, which did not embolden any bottom feeders looking to buy value as the coronavirus drags on. In the overnight electronic session the March corn is currently trading at 379, which is ¾ of a cent lower. The trading range has been 380 ¼ to 378.
On the ethanol front E&E News reporters Marc Heller and Timothy Cama wrote that the Iowa Caucus debacle may have had more collateral damage other than an utter embarrassment to the democrats, but the political power behind Ethanol. Yesterday’s USDA report had estimated Ethanol usage near 5.425 (mil bu) vs. a year ago 5.376 (mil bu) while exports dropped to 1.725 (mil bu) vs. 2.065 (mil bu) a year ago. There were no trades posted in the overnight electronic session. The March contract settled at 1.340. The market is currently showing 1 bid @ 1.322 and 1 offer 2 1.336 with Open Interest dropping to 285 contracts.
On the Crude Oil front China stimulus packages and proposed OPEC + production cuts are buoying prices as we had builds on last nights API Energy Stocks of 6.0 million barrels even as analysts are downgrading global demand. Yet the global stock Markets are not playing ball and see this as just a bump in the road. More bullish fundamental news is a refinery fire on the bluffs of the Mississippi River in North Baton Rouge Louisiana. No injuries were reported at the 5th largest refinery in the nation that produces Gasoline, Diesel, jet Fuel, chemicals and other products. This is just another bullish shot in the arm. In the overnight electronic session the March Crude Oil is currently trading at 5107, which is 113 points higher. The trading range has been 5116 to 4995.
On the Natural gas front were looking at short-covering profit taking rally this morning. In the overnight electronic session the March Natural Gas is currently trading at 1.828, which is 4 cents higher. The trading range has been 1.839 to 1.789.
Have a Great Trading Day!