China and Fed uncertainty is leading this morning's early selloff. It would be nice if all the Fed Chairmen get on the same page, whether it be dovish or hawkish, so the market does not have this outrageous volatility. I, for one, do enjoy volatility, but it just seems the Fed is manipulating the marketplace.
Today's reports are Chicago PMI, Export Inspections and Crop Production.
In the overnight electronic session the September corn is currently trading at 363¼ which is unchanged at this writing. The trading range has been 365¼ to 362 so far. Traveling through Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin this weekend I saw some good and some poor crops, but nothing stood out as good to excellent.
On the ethanol front there were no trades posted in the overnight electronic session. The September contract settled at 1.443 and is currently showing 1 bid at 1.390 and 2 offers at 1.469 which seems to quite a large spread considering where the markets are trading that lead this market.
On the crude oil front, I have heard no fresh news if the New Jersey refinery is back online, however, the markets still seem to be trading lower mainly due to another confidence shaker from the Fed as we head into September with a hike of interest rates looming over our head and China's economy. In the overnight electronic session the October contract is currently trading at 4433 which is 89 points lower. The trading range has been 4527 to 4412 so far. I hear analyst predictions at year end anywhere from $20 to $80 a barrel. That is quite of a divergence and I'm guessing anywhere around $60 to $70 a barrel by years end.
The natural gas market is easing since Tropical Storm Erika was less of a threat to the Gulf of Mexico region, although she is responsible for 22 deaths in her path. Hurricane Fred is the new threat and is a currently a Category 1 at this points with sustained winds of 70 knots. At this point the path is on a northwest path at 10 knots and may not be a threat unless he changes course. In the overnight electronic session the October contract is currently trading at 2.648, which is .067 cents lower. The trading range has been 2.683 to 2.646 so far.