Happy 2/22/22 as we started off this palindrome day with S&P/Case-Schiller Home Price MoM & YoY (Dec), House Price Index MoM & YoY (Dec) and House Price index at 9:00 A.M., Markit Composite PMI Flash (Feb), Markit Manufacturing PMI Flash (Feb) and Markit Services PMI flash (Feb) at 9:45 A.M., CB Consumer Confidence (Feb), Export Inspections, Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index (Feb), Richmond Fed Manufacturing Shipment Index (Feb) and Richmond Fed Services Index (Feb) at 10:00 A.M., NY Fed Treasury Purchases TIPS ! to 7.5 yrs., 3-Month Bill Auction, 52-Week Bill Auction, and 6-Month Bill Auction at 10:30 A.M., 2-Year Note Auction at 12:00 P.M. and Cold Storage at 2:00 P.M.

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The Russians have begun and sanctions will begin today. Germany in a surprise move halts certification of Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Germany imports 30% of their gas from Russia. And I also believe you don’t have all that military hardware to say trick or treat. The numbers show they plan to occupy and go back to the iron curtain. Putin is an old hardline KGB agent he will push until he is deterred. NATO must show resolve to have the sanctions force an impact. But until that day will come Putin will exasperate his profits on food and energy almost double-dipping.

On the Corn front, we are seeing fear in the marketplace. We could see these markets race higher but not exactly a runaway now. But the American Taxpayer will foot the bill once again. In the overnight electronic session the March corn is currently trading at 663 which is 8 ¾ cents higher. As I said far from a runaway but the die has been cast. The trading range has been 671 3/3 to 657 ¾.

On the Ethanol Front no real new headlines except last week’s study that ethanol is no better to than gasoline to pollution. But with soaring energy prices I anticipate use, production, and cash to rise. As we take baby steps to boost supply. There were no trades in the or open interest in ethanol futures.

On the Crude Oil front, it is Last Trading Day on the March contract, and the API’s are delayed until tomorrow. The market is pricing in risk and with expiration on March futures this could be a volatile day with huge swings. We will have key developments as the day moves on. In the overnight electronic session the April crude oil is currently trading at 9331 which is 310 points higher. The trading range has been 9495 to 8906.

On the Natural gas front, with Germany suspending certification of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline we could see U.S. exports explode and higher prices for all. This is just another self-inflicted wound the administration caused. Russia will profit handsomely with an energy market the U.S. gave them with the assault on pipeline across the country and the closing of Anwar and the Keystone Pipeline XL. If you want peace through strength, energy, food and inflation tops the list as the highest Nation Security Risks other than cyber threats. In the overnight electronic session the March natural gas is currently trading at 4.556 which is 0.125 higher. The trading range has been 4.861 to 4.519.