USDA's weekly export sales report is due out at 7:30 a.m. CDT Thursday, the same time as weekly U.S. jobless claims and an update of the U.S. Drought Monitor, followed by the Conference Board's index of U.S. leading indicators at 9 a.m. and the Energy Department's weekly report of natural gas storage at 9:30 a.m. Traders will keep close watch on the latest weather forecasts and watch to see if Russia restores gas shipments to Germany. The European Central Bank is expected to raise its interest rate by a half-percent.
Weather
A frontal boundary continues to push south and east across the country, though it is hard to call it a cold front with temperatures so high in many areas even north of this front. The front will be the focus for thunderstorm development, however, and some severe storms will be possible across the Southeast and up the Eastern Seaboard. To the northwest, temperatures are above-normal for most of the country except up along and across the Canadian border. There could be some pop-up showers at times through the rest of the Plains and Corn Belt, but most areas should stay dry today, increasing stress for drier areas of the country.