The grain trade maintained yesterday’s strength and added to it in the night session from yesterday’s sharply higher run. Anticipation of an announcement today from President Trump that the US is pushing China to fulfill its commitment to the 2020 Phase 1 agreement and purchase $85 billion of US goods is in the works. President Trump is in Des Moines, Iowa, and is expected to announce that agricultural products will soon be purchased by China.

This morning’s Non-farm Payroll number was up 147,000 compared to estimates of 110,000, and the unemployment rate was 4.1% compared to an estimated 4.3%. Gold is off $20 at 3003 38 while the US dollar index is up $0.58 at 97.00.

The tax bill is being voted on this morning in the House for reconciliation with the Senate's changes, while soybean oil consolidates its recent burst to 55.00 on strong prospects for the need for pricing to start to eliminate exports of soybean oil as it will be needed in the US. Imported stocks will not be allowed to have credits applied to any imports, such as used cooking oil from China.

Nearby weather forecasts are favorable, but a warmer trend does develop in the 11-15 day window. This week, the central US will see readings warm up with temperatures in the mid-80s to lower 90s, with warmer temperatures in the July 15-17 window. There is no evidence of lasting extreme heat or the development of a Midwestern heat dome.

Yesterday’s cattle trade saw a sharply lower run to start the session, reversing midday on the news of Chinese agricultural exports. China is not a large buyer of beef, but in the current atmosphere, it has recovered some of its recent losses since the announcement of the staged opening of Mexican feeder cattle into the US. US beef imports have been running at a record pace while lean beef prices set record highs and widened the spread in import prices. 90% lean beef traded at a record high of $401/CWT versus Australian beef imports, which were costing $346. The spread is the widest since early April and higher than premiums were a year ago.

The cattle trade is trying to assess discounts on live cattle contracts against the current cash market. The market is constantly caught in a fear of a price break, and sharp losses, for now, continue to be bought in a bullish atmosphere. The June 9 highs stand as the high watermark for the futures trade, whether they will be retested or not.