The U.S. Energy Department will have its weekly inventory report at 9:30 a.m. CST Wednesday, including an update of ethanol production, previously reported at 844,000 barrels per day. Traders will keep an eye on KC wheat after prices broke below their December low Tuesday, check the latest weather forecasts and see if USDA has an export sales announcement at 8 a.m. Trading in grains may turn quiet ahead of Thursday's USDA reports.
Weather
A two-part storm is moving through the country Wednesday. The first piece is producing a mix of snow and freezing rain across Minnesota and Wisconsin that will push eastward and may expand showers into the Ohio Valley later in the day. The second, larger storm is pressing through the central Rockies and will exit into the Plains later in the day. This storm will start to produce scattered showers in Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska this afternoon, with snow or rain changing to snow and a couple of inches of accumulation. The storm will miss most of the Southern Plains, but winds will increase as the cold front moves through, which is a major fire risk for this are in deep drought. Temperatures remain above normal for most of the country.