DTN Midday Grain Comments 03/21 11:32

DTN Midday Grain Comments 03/21 11:32 All Grains Trading Lower at Midday Trade continues to struggle with all lower at midday By David Fiala DTN Contributing Analyst General Comments The U.S. stock market indices are lower with the Dow futures down 150 points. The interest rate products are higher. The dollar index is 68 points lower. Energies are lower with crude down $0.70. Livestock trade is with cattle higher. Precious metals are mixed with gold up $9.10. CORN Corn trade is 2 to 4 cents lower at midday with trade still holding the low end of the range with generally weaker trade at midday. Ethanol margins are finding support but remain tight. Corn basis is expected to remain steady with bushels moving ahead of spring fieldwork. South America does not have any major weather issues for corn in the near-term picture with early double-crop corn progress good. The chart picture remains negative in the short term with trade testing the low end of the range On the May chart support nearby support is the recent low at $3.59 then the $3.52 late December low. Resistance is the 10-day at $3.66, then the 200-day at $3.69 1/4. SOYBEANS Soybean trade is flat to 2 cents lower at midday in quiet action with market staying range bound. Meal is $1.50 to $2.50 lower and oil 30 to 40 points higher. South America looks to continue normal progress in the near term with any weather issues limited with some of the main areas in Brazil nearly done with harvest. Crush margins will need to improve to drive basis improvement as the export program slows seasonally. The strength in the Real has supported U.S. export competitiveness, which should limit near-term downside despite rising production estimates from Brazil with some private sources up to 111 million metric tons. On the May soybean chart support is at the $9.92 low printed on Tuesday, resistance is at the 10-day and lowest major moving average at $10.04. WHEAT Wheat trade is 4 to 8 cents lower at midday with trade retesting the lower end of the range ahead of rains forecasted for the end of the month, although SW Kansas looks to miss the bulk of the rain. New lows have been made in Kansas City trade by 4 cents. The recent warmer weather has stressed the crop on the plains but concerns are limited at the moment. The dollar has broken below the 100 mark on the index this morning, which is supportive. The protein spreads are steady overnight. On the May Kansas City contract support is the recent low at $4.35, with resistance the 100-day at $4.43. 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 (ES) Copyright 2017 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved.