We have two reports on the last trading session of 2018. Chicago PMI at 9:00 A.M. and Export Inspections at 10:00 A.M. President Trump said that “big progress” is being made on a possible China trade deal. He tweeted that he had a “long and very good call” with Chinese President Xi Jinping and the possible trade deal between the United States and China was progressing well.
As the partial government shutdown entered its eighth day, with no end in sight, the President was in Washington, sending tweets attacking Democrats and talking up relations with China. The two nations have been in a trade war for most of 2018, shocking the financial market as the flow of hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of goods between the two largest economies has been disrupted by tariffs. This news story was contributed by Yeganeh Torbati and Ryan Woo. In the overnight electronic session, the March Corn is currently trading at 376 which is a ½ of a cent higher. The trading range has been 377 to 375 ¼.
On the Ethanol front there were no trades posted in the overnight electronic session. The February contract settled at 1.276 and is currently showing 1 bid at 1.262 and 1 offer at 1.287 with Open Interest at 1,929 contracts.
On the Crude Oil front the market is rolling on the news of China trade talks moving further and gaining more traction, expected OPEC production cuts and frackers cutting their budgets due to cheap prices. In the overnight electronic session the February Crude Oil is currently trading at 4607 which is 74 points higher. The trading range has been 4653 to 4522.
On the Natural Gas front the market remains in full retreat with the February contract currently trading at 3.113 which is 19 cents lower. The trading range has been 3.140 to 3.061. Winter weather cannot even spark a rally as the weather forecast continues to change.