U.S. new home sales for July will be released at 9 a.m. CDT. USDA's monthly cattle on-feed and cold storage reports are due out at 2 p.m. Grain traders will be closely watching developments surrounding the halt to rail service in Canada that is also affecting U.S. rail service and making grain elevators reluctant to take in grain until they can be confident about making shipments. Fed-watchers will be following Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming on Friday, looking for any clues on what the Fed will decide in September.
Weather
A weak front may produce some showers from Colorado to Wisconsin on Friday but will be only spotty where it occurs. A system moving into the Pacific Northwest will spread more showers through the Northern Plains and eventually the Canadian Prairies later Friday afternoon and evening. Heat that has been stuck in Texas all week, is starting to spread north.