Commodities Back in the Spotlight!
Natural Gas: Lead month Natural Gas futures continue to plunge to lows not seen since September of 2006, as continued moderate temperatures in the major U.S. Gas consuming regions and near record high Gas storage levels are keeping bears firmly in control. In addition, the Atlantic hurricane season has been mild, with no major threats to the U.S. Gulf Coast. Current Gas in storage stands at 2.926 trillion cubic feet (tcf), or nearly 13% above the 5-year average. In early trade, October Natural Gas is trading at $5.441, down $0.298.
Lean Hogs: After slumping for most of August, Lean Hog futures surged on Friday in the wake of a 60-million-pound pork deal made with a Chinese trading company. This sparked a round of short covering buying, with the most-active October contract trading close to the 300-point limit at one point in the session. China, the world’s largest consumer of Pork, was rumored to be looking to purchase U.S. pork due to disease issues in the country that have forced a reduction in the country’s Hog herd. October Lean Hog futures closed on Friday at 70.65, up 2.17.
Corn: December Corn futures fell sharply in overnight trading, as industry group Professional Farmers of America estimated the U.S. Corn crop at 13.109 billion bushels, up from the 13.054 billion USDA estimate in the August Crop report. In addition, forecasts calling for drier condition in the Midwest may allow some areas to start the Corn harvest earlier than expected. At the end of the overnight session, December Corn was trading at $3.50 ¾, down 8 cents.
Mike Zarembski, Senior Commodity Analyst
Economic Data Scheduled for Monday, August 27, 2007
(All times in U.S. Central Time)
U.S.
9:00 AM: Existing Home Sales for July (Consensus 5.70M)
