9:00 AM Market Direction:  Corn down 1-2; Beans down 3-4.

Grains and oilseeds start the last day of the week in the red. Corn volume was light while soybean volume was solid.  Monday is a non-trading day as we all observe Memorial Day. Monday’s night session begins at normal hours.  Expect a choppy trade today.

The Kansas Wheat tour results at 284 mbu are 20 mbu below USDA’s forecast but just above ATI’s 281 mbu.

Short term corn export outlook improves 4 to 50 per week, which would be 10 mbu more than the year ago pace for the up-coming period as the weekly sales average is at a 4-year high; beans likely to remain at 13-20 per week.

T-storm Weather®: pockets of rain today focus on central/southern Plains & western Corn Belt. Rains then expand & affect areas further east as the wave passes Sat., while a larger system assembles in the Plains. The larger system then produces pockets of rain in much of central U.S. Sat.-Tue., diminishing from northwest to southeast. Finally, a cold front sweeps across central U.S. May 28-30 to mark the onset of a drier period as muggy air is swept away, but not be-fore triggering scattered rain when it passes.

CHICAGO, May 21 (Reuters) - U.S. frozen pork inventories fell in April, when they typically rise, and beef inventories dropped more than normal as the coronavirus pandemic shut slaughterhouses and prompted grocers to limit customers' buying, government data showed on Thursday. About 20 meat plants shut last month while consumers were stocking freezers during state-imposed lockdowns. U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the plants to stay open after meatpackers warned of shortages. Total pork inventories in cold-storage facilities declined about 2 million pounds to 614.8 million pounds as of April 30, compared to a month earlier, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. Normally supplies increase 27 million pounds from March to April, said Rich Nelson, chief strategist for broker Allendale. Total beef inventories fell by about 12 million pounds to 490 million pounds, exceeding the average decline of about 6 million pounds from March to April. "There was a moderate drawdown story for pork," Nelson said. "It was nothing like a catastrophic scare." Inventories of pork bellies, which are cured into bacon, rose by 2.7 million pounds from March to 80.87 million pounds, according to the USDA. Typically they increase by about 7 million pounds over that period, according to Allendale. Prices for pork bellies tumbled as restaurants closed dining rooms, but other cuts have become more expensive due to stronger retail demand. Much of the meat in cold storage is destined for export markets, rather than U.S. grocery stores, analysts said. China has been a major buyer of U.S. pork this year but canceled purchases of 12,561 tonnes last week, according to separate USDA data. Shipments of U.S. pork to China remained strong at 19,808 tonnes.

This afternoon brings the COT report which should show managed money adding to its already large short position.

Weekend weather looks wet again in the Central and Eastern corn belt, with Tuesday afternoon’s planting progress expected to show light additions to this week’s numbers.

Have a nice weekend!

Summary Items:

Markets still moving sideways; slightly lower today.

Meat prices remain volatile; packers remain the winners.

Weather, exports, etoh/crude, COVID-19 remain the focus.

Corn - $3.88 Spring    

Beans - $9.17 Spring