USDA's weekly export sales report will be out at 7:30 a.m. CST Thursday, the same time as weekly U.S. jobless claims, the consumer price index for December and an update of the U.S. Drought Monitor. The Energy Department's report on natural gas storage will be out at 9:30 a.m., followed by the Treasury Department's federal budget statement at 2 p.m.
Weather
A strong storm will develop in the Southern Plains on Thursday, on the leading edge of the cold air of the polar vortex. The storm system will deepen over the Midwest on Friday and bring a swath of heavy snow from around Nebraska through Michigan. Strong winds developing with the system will create blizzard conditions in the heavy snow. Meanwhile, strong thunderstorms are possible again across the South-Central states Thursday and the Southeast on Friday. Arctic air has already started to leak into the Northern Plains and will spread out across the country behind this system.