The latest weather forecasts have gotten a lot of attention in this week's markets and will again Friday. China's appetite for U.S. new-crop corn has also gotten a lot of press and traders will be watching for the possibility of a seventh consecutive purchase on Friday. A report on U.S. existing home sales for April is due out at 9 a.m. CDT. USDA's cattle on-feed report for May 1 is set for 2 p.m. CDT with analysts expecting roughly 11.58 million head, a modest drop from last month's 11.90 million head.
Weather
A stream of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico will produce a band of scattered showers arcing north-northeast from Louisiana and eastern Texas through Lake Superior on Friday. Additional showers and thunderstorms are expected across the Northern Plains with some late afternoon and evening thunderstorms in the High Plains, the latter of which could be strong to severe. Showers should continue to improve soil moisture and ease drought across northern areas that have been in desperate need over the last several weeks. Snow in western Montana will continue through the day and there will be some occasional showers in the West as well.