DTN Midday Grain Comments 12/24 11:06

DTN Midday Grain Comments 12/24 11:06 Grain Futures Lower at Midday Trade is lower across the board at midday. By David Fiala DTN Contributing Analyst General Comments U.S. stock markets are mixed with the Dow down 40 points. Interest rate products are mixed. The dollar index is 37 points lower. Energies are higher with crude $.40 higher. Livestock trade is mixed. Precious metals are mixed with gold up $6. CORN Corn futures are 1 to 3 cents lower in quiet trade this morning. Ethanol margins continue to see a bit of improvement with the strength in the energy market this week. We close at noon today; trade will likely be quiet for the rest of the session. The weekly export sales were good at 803,600 metric tons. On the March chart we have the 20-day at $3.73 as key resistance with the contract low at $3.62 major support. Commercial scale-down buying should be sitting below the low, which should help trade find support if selling pressure surfaces today. SOYBEANS Soybean futures are 6 to 9 cents lower at midday with selling pressure returning on better forecasts despite strong export sales. Meal is $2 to $3 lower and oil is 20 to 30 points higher. Persistent South American weather concerns are here to note with the near-term forecast keeping dryness intact for Mato Grosso especially, but the extended forecast shows improvement for late next week, with overall January weather being a bigger factor than December weather. Trade will continue to follow updated forecasts closely as we move through the more thinly traded holiday sessions. The weekly export sales were very strong at 2.07 million metric tons of beans, 252,200 of meal, and 39,800 of oil. USDA also announced 100,000 metric tons sold to unknown today. January soybean chart support is at the 20-day moving average at $8.82 which we have moved below this morning, with the recent lows at $8.55 below that, with resistance at the $8.97 100-day moving average. WHEAT Wheat futures are narrowly mixed across the three contracts at midday with trade drifting until the abbreviated day session. Similar to corn, wheat is hanging near the contract lows. Egypt bought wheat from Argentina for the first time since 2012 on Wednesday. The weekly export sales showed some improvement at 370,300 metric tons. Northern Hemisphere weather concerns are not around giving us this depressed market due to our current huge global wheat supplies. Storms are moving across the U.S. wheat belt adding moisture, and cold air expected to be moderate in Russia. On the March KC chart support is at the $4.63 3/4 contract low printed at the beginning of the month, with nearby resistance the lowest major moving average at $4.77 the 20-day moving average. David Fiala is a DTN contributing analyst and the President of FuturesOne and a registered trading adviser. David Fiala can be reached at dfiala@futuresone.com Follow David Fiala on Twitter @davidfiala (BAS) Copyright 2015 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved.