DTN Midday Grain Comments 02/21 11:25

DTN Midday Grain Comments 02/21 11:25 Grains Trending Lower at Midday Trade is mildly lower at midday with momentum flat. By David Fiala DTN Contributing Analyst General Comments The U.S. stock market indices are higher with the Dow futures up 70 points. The interest rate products are lower. The dollar index is 44 points higher. Energies are mixed with crude up 1.00. Livestock trade is higher. Precious metals are mixed with gold down 1.90. CORN Corn trade is flat to 1 cent lower at midday with flat momentum; the market was up a few cents overnight and down 2 cents this morning. Ethanol margins remain poor but spring driving season continues to grow closer giving some optimism. Ethanol is down a penny at midday. Double-crop planting in Brazil will continue to expand in coming days. The weekly export inspections were good at 1.152 million metric tons, with daily announcements of sales of 269,296 metric tons to Japan, and 111,200 to unknown on the daily wire. The USDA outlook forum this week will shine more light on expected 2017 acre figures. Support is at the $3.68 20-day and $3.67 200-day which we are testing this morning, with resistance now at the $3.72 10-day followed by the $3.80 high. SOYBEANS Soybean trade is 2 to 5 cents lower at midday with trade giving back the overnight strength pretty quickly during the day session with harvest pressure building out of Brazil. Meal is $1 to $2 lower and oil is 15 to 25 points lower making fresh lows again this morning. Crop size expectations remain strong for Brazil with some concerns about harvest wetness lingering, but the strong Brazilian real remains the bigger story for export competition. The weekly export inspections remain solid at 1.076 million metric tons. On the March soybean chart support is now at the $10.18 200-day and resistance at the $10.44 20-day, with trade falling below the 50-day at $10.35. WHEAT Wheat trade is 2 to 5 cents lower across the three contracts at midday after early mixed trade. The firmer dollar will limit upside, but it remains overall in the lower side of the post-election range. The warm stretch will continue to raise concerns about breaking dormancy early, with the more extended forecast showing potentially for a cold snap into early March for the western belt with moisture angled north for now. Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas caught some rains over the week. The weekly export inspections were better at 585,252 metric tons, and 138,650 metric tons sold to unknown on the daily wire. On the March Kansas City contract support is at the $4.50 200-day. Resistance is at the seven-month high at $4.74 1/2 which was printed on Thursday with the 10-day at $4.56 just above that. David Fiala is a 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.