12/08/2024 Sunday Market Preview

Grains look set for a slightly higher start, but the tone of trading could turn bearish if crude oil faces heavy selling. Market participants are sorting out fresh developments in the Middle East. In the Headlines Rebels toppled the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad over the weekend. Assad has fled the country, possibly with assistance from Russia. The rebel fighters are an Islamist group that has ties to al-Qaida and ISIS, but they have support from Turkey and oppose the Islamic factions backed by Iran. President Trump reacted to the developments on social media by saying, “The United States should have nothing to do with it. This is not our fight. Let it play out. Do not get involved.” The countdown continues toward a December 20 deadline for government funding. A lame duck session is expected to produce a continuing resolution that will pass the responsibility for approving federal spending bills to the next Congress. Also still expected before lawmakers leave for the holidays will be an extension of the Farm Bill. Failing to address the Farm Bill would mean a reversion to “permanent law” that brings back some of the program rules from the 1930’s and 1940’s. There…