USDA's weekly export sales report is due out at 7:30 a.m. CDT, along with U.S. weekly jobless claims and an update of the U.S. Drought Monitor. Traders will pause at 8 a.m. to see if China signs up for more new-crop corn. An index of leading U.S. indicators will be out at 9 a.m., followed by the Energy Department's weekly report of natural gas inventory at 9:30 a.m. CDT.
Weather
Drought-easing precipitation is in store Thursday in the northern Midwest, northern Plains and Canadian Prairies. The moisture will occur mostly as rain with some snow. We'll also see a wide swath of light rain from the western Midwest south to the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast. Other primary crop areas will be dry.