The U.S. Labor Department will have nonfarm payrolls and the U.S. unemployment rate out, both for the month of August at 7:30 a.m. CDT Friday. A report on U.S. factory orders follows at 9 a.m. As usual, traders remain interested in the latest weather forecasts and any news from Ukraine. Grain and livestock markets will close at their normal times Friday, but could exhibit stranger than usual behavior ahead of the three-day weekend.
Weather
A cold front moving into the Western Corn Belt is producing some shower activity Friday morning from Nebraska into Minnesota. The front is moving southeast, with showers extending from Kansas to Lake Superior. Some of these storms could be severe. Another low-pressure center moving out of Oklahoma and into the Ozarks is producing scattered showers and storms and is being pulled northeast throughout the day. Strong storms are not expected but rainfall will help some of the drought areas in this region. Otherwise, temperatures remain well above normal for most areas not directly behind the front and very hot in the West.