Highlights
The US Midwest is predicted by the NOAA to be very hot with most areas receiving less than normal rainfall.
Asian shares are struggling today as economic data is expected to show China needs to get a serious economic stimulus package issued pronto. As a result of weaker stock markets in Asia, US Treasury yields are higher and, therefore, so was the US dollar.
What does not add-up is China is buying more crude oil each day than ever before and importing soybeans at a record pace, yet the media issues a steady diet of how much trouble China’s economy is having.
World crude oil consumption in July was a record large 103 million barrels per day. Russia is selling crude oil well above the $60 cap the EU stipulated last winter.
Yesterday, the Russian warship Bykov, after firing warning shots, intercepted and inspected a bulker Sukru Okan in the Black Sea. The ship was heading for the Ukrainian port of Izmail on the Danube River. At last report, the Sukru Okan is safe, approaching Sulina.