This marks the 242nd anniversary that the Second Continental Congress approved what is known as the Declaration of Independence. John Hancock signed it and it was not until two days later that members of the Continental Congress signed the historic document. Sunday was also Canada Day and we have several reports this week with Construction Spending and ISM Manufacturing Index at 9:00 AM, Export Inspections at 10:00 AM, Cotton System, Fats & Oils and Grain Crushings at 2:00 P.M. followed by Crop Progress at 3:00 P.M. On the Corn front, Friday’s Planted Acreage showed that farmers planted 89,557 million acres of Soybeans and 89,128 million acres of Corn. This is the first time since 1983 farmers planted more Soybeans than Corn. Reported by Mark Weinraub with Reuters. I am hearing whispers of late Corn planted in parts of Wisconsin and wonder if the USDA counted that. As the country bakes under the heat dome and we have had an active volcanic season with eruptions, there are forecasts of an early frost due to volcanic ash in the air. In the overnight electronic session the September Corn is currently trading at 358 ½ which is 1 cent lower. The trading range has been 362 ¼ to 358 ¼.
On the Ethanol front there were no trades posted in the overnight electronic session. The August contract settled at 1.435 and is currently showing 1 bid at 1.416 and 1 offer at 1.449 with Open Interest at 1,039 contracts. The Corn news with forecasts of an early frost out there could propel prices as energy prices are high and we anticipate large exports.
On the Crude Oil front the Trump tweet to Saudi Arabia to ramp up production with political woes in Iran and Venezuela which for different reasons we will not see there percentage in the fold as prices continue to rise and getting too high. That triggered a busy Sunday night. In the overnight electronic session the August Crude Oil is currently trading at 7375 which is 40 points lower. The trading range has been 7423 to 7251.
On the Natural Gas front the futures markets are finally following a weak cash market and producers sending record volumes down the pipeline until storage capacity cannot handle anymore product until we have more demand. Despite the dangerous heat we do not expect any type of shortages this year. In the overnight electronic session the August Natural Gas is currently trading at 2.879 which is 4 ½ cents lower. The trading range has been 2.927 to 2.876.