At 7:30 a.m. CDT Friday, a report on U.S. housing starts for March will be released, followed by the University of Michigan's index of consumer sentiment at 9 a.m. Traders will keep a close watch on the latest weather forecasts as we head into the weekend. Any export sales news will also get attention as USDA has not had a U.S. corn sale announced in April yet.
Weather
Rain and snow are in store for most of the Plains Friday. Amounts will be light to moderate in the southern Plains and light in the northern Plains. Southern Plains crop areas will have favorable moisture, with no more than slight drought easing in the northern Plains. We'll also see light rain in the Delta and Deep South along with the Great Lakes. A notable cooling trend will spread farther south as well. Meanwhile, dry and very warm conditions will stress northwest crop areas.