We started off the day with Advanced Durable Goods, Export Sales, Jobless Claims and Personal Income at 7:30 A.M., New Home Sales and Michigan Consumer data at 9:00 A.M., EIA Gas Storage at 9:30 A.M., 4-Week and 8-Week Bill Auction at 10:30 A.M., Baker Hughes Oil & Total Rig Count at 12:00 P.M., Cattle on Feed and Hogs & Pigs at 2:00 P.M.

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On the Corn front, we are trading above $6. Woo Hoo! The omicron virus scares were put to rest in yesterday’s action. Demand Destruction is no longer an issue, now we focus on exports and South American weather. Funds remain long. In the overnight electronic session the March corn is currently trading at 602 ¼ which is a ¼ of a cent higher. The trading range has been 606 to 600 ½.

On the Ethanol front, production and stocks were down on the week. Ethanol production averaged 1.051 million barrels per day, a decline of 36,000 on the week but 75,000 higher on the year. Domestic stocks of 20,705 million barrels were 178,000 less than last week and under 2.464 million barrels than last year. Yes, demand is picking up as no open interest remains in ethanol futures. The next USDA corn for ethanol use estimate will be released January 12^th.

On the Crude Oil front, this market is looking past omicron as well and now trading off fears of disruptions now that we are oil dependent once again. This is just a perfect recipe for higher prices, let alone inflation nation. In the overnight electronic session the February crude oil is currently trading at 7313 which is 37 points higher. The trading range has been 7333 to 7227.

On the Natural Gas front, it is EIA Gas Storage day, and a WSJ survey with 12 analysts, brokers, and traders participating expect withdrawals ranging from 50bcf to 62 bcf with the actual 57bcf. This compares to the one-year withdrawal of 147 bcf and the five-year average of 153 bcf decline. In the overnight electronic session the January natural gas is currently trading at 3.760 which is 0.210 lower. The trading range has been 4.006 to 3.754.