At 7:30 a.m. CDT Thursday, weekly U.S. jobless claims will be out, along with a report on first-quarter productivity and an update of the U.S. Drought Monitor. An index of U.S. manufacturing is set for 9 a.m. The U.S. Energy Department's natural gas storage report will be out at 9:30 a.m. CDT, followed by weekly inventories, including ethanol production at 10 a.m. The monthly Fats and Oils report from NASS is set for 2 p.m.
Weather
As has been the case all week long, showers and thunderstorms continue to develop in parts of the Plains, being heavy in some spots where they occur, which may produce flooding. The Texas Panhandle has been hit repeatedly but other areas up and down the Plains could see some locally heavy rain as well. Some isolated showers and thunderstorms may occur in parts of the western Midwest and Southeast.