Tidbits
March U.S. manufacturing PMI (purchasing managers index) was better than expected at 52.5, services PMI was below expectation at 51.7, values above 50 imply expansion. Existing home sales were better than expected at 4.38 million. Jobless claims at 210k were less than expected.
Iowa is facing drought for the 4th year in a row. Today's drought monitor showed at least abnormally dry conditions with 23% for corn and 19% for beans. Seasonal outlooks, released by NOAA today, suggest dry conditions could intensify for the summer.
Nationwide corn and soybeans drought areas are higher than four previous years. Close to 2021/22 for corn.
