DTN Midday Grain Comments 01/31 11:03

DTN Midday Grain Comments 01/31 11:03 Grains Lightly Mixed at Midday Trade is hanging near unchanged at midday. By David Fiala DTN Contributing Analyst General Comments The U.S. stock market indices are lower with the Dow futures down 170. The interest rate products are higher. The dollar index is 80 points lower. Energies are higher with crude up $0.90. Livestock trade is lower for cattle, and higher for hogs. Precious metals are higher with gold up $17.00. CORN Corn trade is 1 to 3 cents higher at midday in fairly quiet trade with trade looking to find more footing after the soft start to the week with support from the weaker dollar. Ethanol board margins are steady this morning but will need more support to avoid a production slowdown before spring driving season. Basis has softened but further downside should be limited in the near term. Farmer movement is only expected with basis improvement or board improvement. The February USDA monthly report is due out at the end of next week; until then news is limited. On the March corn chart we saw pressure after dropping below the 20-day moving average which is now first resistance at $3.61, then the 200-day at $3.69. Support is at the $3.56 50-day then the $3.52 100-day moving average. SOYBEANS Soybean trade is narrowly mixed with quiet trade at midday with little follow through selling from the sharp break yesterday. Meal is $1 to $2 lower and oil is 30 to 40 points higher. Better rain forecasts for the dry areas of Argentina at the end of the week eased weather concerns. Wet weather is expected to slow early harvest in Brazil, and could cause some additional quality issues with the export program starting to gather steam. The Brazilian Real has rallied further which is slowing farmer selling. November soybeans have held above $10 today keeping soybeans in the lead for acres. On the March soybean chart futures slipped below the $10.35 20-day Monday. This is now nearby notable resistance then the $10.53 10-day, support is at the $10.14 200-day. WHEAT Wheat trade is narrowly mixed in quiet trade at midday with the weaker dollar adding support, along with flat row crop trade limiting upside. The dollar index broke below the 100 level, which should encourage some buying if sustained. Black Sea sellers have been active the last couple of days to keep wheat moving out of their ports with feed wheat becoming a growing emphasis. The western belt is still shorter on near term moisture which will be watched closer as the wheat gets closer to coming out of dormancy with warmer than normal temperatures on deck. On the March Kansas City contract, support is at the $4.24 50-day and resistance is at the $4.37 20-day then the $4.41 10-day moving average. DTN contributing analyst and the President of FuturesOne and a registered adviser. He can be reached at dfiala@futuresone.com Follow Fiala on Twitter @davidfiala (BAS) Copyright 2017 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved.