Cinderella left behind to take care of the cleaning while the nasty stepsisters go to the ball. The last kid picked for the team in gym class. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. I suspect that any of these descriptions could be applied to how the wheat market has felt this week. While corn and beans are off galivanting in new and exciting places, this market has been left behind. While I suppose a fairy godmother or a sympathetic coach could come along and make things all better but sometimes life is not fair and everyone cannot have the prize. Also, let’s not forget that wheat was whooping it up back in October while corn and beans were still trying to find their mojo, so don’t feel too sorry for them, not to mention the fact they have staged a rally this morning.
We do seem to be confronted with a real dearth of news this morning so these comments will be a bit shorter than normal. That should not come as a surprise seeing we are really down to the last several hours of trade for 2020. Markets will trade a normal session tomorrow and then will reopen on Sunday evenings.
The strike by Argentine oilseed workers is now officially over but it should still require a few weeks to clean out the backlog of ships waiting to load.
We do have a couple of pieces of economic news to share. The Chicago Purchasing Managers Index for December came in at 59.5. This was up from 58.2 last month and well above the expected 56.0. Also, the National Association of Realtors released November figures and pending home sales dropped 2.6%, compared to an expected .3% decline. Obvious cheap mortgages do not help much if you do not have a job to back that up. Equity markets are higher this morning after swooning a bit yesterday.
In the other macros, we find energies and metals higher, and financial instruments and the dollar lower.
