We start of the day with Unemployment data at 7:30 A.M., Wholesale Trade at 9:00 A.M., Baker Hughes Oil & Total Rig Count at 12:00 P.M., and Consumer Credit at 2:00 P.M.

On the Corn front the December contract closed at 323 ¾ which was up a ½ of a cent in yesterdays action. Ben Potter with Farm Progress reported corn basis bids ticked a penny higher at an Illinois River terminal and held steady across the Midwest. With prices so low farmers have been reluctant to book sales this week. Old crop sales were quiet with only 4 million bushels, which was 70% below the prior four-week average. New crop sales were up 102.4 million bushels, bringing the total to 106.4 million bushels which was on the higher end of expectations. Ukrainian consultancy Pro Agro raised their estimates on corn exports to 1.311 billion bushels, due to a better than expected harvest. China continues to draw down on the states corn resources with another auction. This could be the wild card to see more purchase to replenish their stockpiles. They may also be waiting to see how the election plays out as they are still not near the Phase One  commitment on Ag purchases. Next week will be looking at Crop Progress on Monday and the Crop Production USDA Supply/Demand and WASDE report on Wednesday. We should also should be watching fund activity with an overall good crop forecasted and a possibility of rising exports as prices are cheap relative of the strength or weakness to the U.S. dollar. In the overnight electronic session the December corn is currently trading at 323 ¼ which is a ½ of a cent lower. The trading rage has been 324 ¼ to 323.

On the Ethanol Front tomorrow is the 15th Anniversary of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) that President George W. Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005. This gave birth to the Renewable Fuels Association which was designed to educate, market and provide tools and other resources necessary to place the right infrastructure, deal with regulatory issues, and help customers understand the value of this new blend. Right now they are helping retailers stay afloat during this pandemic which has caused sever draw downs. There were no trades posted in the overnight electronic session. The September contract settled at 1.160 and is currently showing 1 bid 1.050 and 1 offer @ 1.180 with Open Interest at 68 contracts.

On the Crude Oil front the U.S. exported in June its first crude oil shipment to Saudi Arabia since the ban on crude oil exports were lifted in 2015. The shipment may be the first part of series of shipments to the Kingdom headed to destinations unknown marking the U.S. as an energy hub. Who would of thought, two decades ago. And this comes as the U.S. shale patch faces another round of bankruptcies. In the overnight electronic session the September crude oil is currently trading at 4186 which is 9 points lower. The trading range has been 4222 to 4135.

On the Natural gas front Tsvetana Paraskova with OILPRICE.com reports that the world consumption of natural gas is set to decline by 4% due to the pandemic. But this commodity has a bright future with clean air policies adopted in Europe  and the U.S. switching from coal to gas.  We are starting to see Asian countries like China and India paving the way to gas adoption in the coming years. This will be a huge market and with low prices and stricter environmental policies we will see this market take off. In the overnight electronic session the September natural gas is currently trading at 2.227 which is .062 higher. The trading range has been 2.229 to 2.140.

Have a Great Trading Day!
Dan Flynn