The U.S. Labor Department's producer price index for December will be out at 7:30 a.m. Friday, one day after consumer prices were said to be up 3.4% from a year ago. USDA's WASDE, December 1 Grain Stocks and Winter Wheat Seedings reports are set for release at 11 a.m. CST. U.S. grain and livestock futures close at their normal times Friday and are closed Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Grain futures will trade next at 7 p.m. CST on Monday.
Weather
The second big storm of the week is moving into the Midwest Friday morning and will quickly deepen. It has already started to produce heavy snow from eastern Nebraska to Lake Michigan early morning and will expand from there. The deepening low-pressure system will create strong winds and blizzard conditions in the snow. To the south, heavy rain and thunderstorms have developed in the Mississippi Valley and will move east throughout the day. The rain will help to ease drought, but thunderstorms may be severe with strong winds the primary threat. Very cold, arctic air continues to spread through the Plains behind the system.