3 Big Things Today, June 19, 2025

1. Grain, Soybean Trading Closed Thursday

Grain and soybean trading is closed Thursday for the Juneteenth holiday. 

Trading is scheduled to resume for the overnight session. 

2. Ethanol Production Drops From Record High

Ethanol output fell from a record high while inventories of the biofuel increased week to week, the Energy Information Administration said in a report. 

Production fell to an average of 1.109 million barrels a day in the week that ended on June 13, the agency said. 

That’s down from a record 1.12 million barrels a day, the highest weekly average on record, the previous week. 

In the Midwest, by far the biggest producing region, output fell to 1.052 million barrels per day from 1.061 million barrels the week prior. 

West Coast production also declined, falling to an average of 8,000 barrels a day from 10,000 barrels a week earlier, EIA said. 

The was the entirety of the losses however as the remaining regions were all unchanged week over week. 

East Coast production was steady at 12,000 barrels a day, Gulf Coast output was unchanged at 27,000 barrels and Rocky Mountain output remained at 11,000 barrels, the government said. 

Ethanol inventories in the week through June 13 increased to 24.12 million barrels from 23.734 million the previous week, EIA said in its report. 

3. Extremely Hot Weather Headed for the Midwest

Extreme heat watches and heat advisories have been issued for several Midwestern states, according to the National Weather Service. 

Parts of Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa are under the watches along with a few counties in both Kansas and North Dakota, NWS maps show. 

In central Nebraska where heat advisories and extreme heat watches will take effect tomorrow morning and last through tomorrow night, temperatures are forecast to reach as high as 105 degrees Fahrenheit, the agency said. 

“Even warmer temperatures are expected Saturday night as lows remain in the middle to upper 70s across the advisory area,” NWS said. 

Temperatures in central Iowa are expected to hit 110 degrees on Saturday afternoon, the agency said. 

“A heat wave will begin across Iowa on Friday and intensify this weekend, resulting in several consecutive days of dangerously hot and humid conditions that may last into early next week,” NWS said.