DTN Midday Grain Comments 03/29 11:34

DTN Midday Grain Comments 03/29 11:34 Grain Trade Trending Lower at Midday Trade is slightly lower to unchanged at midday. By David Fiala DTN Contributing Analyst General Comments The U.S. stock market indices are mixed with the Dow futures down 50 points. The interest rate products are higher. The dollar index is 30 points higher. Energies are higher with crude up $0.80. Livestock trade is mixed. Precious metals are mixed with gold up $3.10. CORN Corn trade is flat to 1 cent lower at midday with trade giving back the light early gains to trade sideways with the market continuing to drift ahead of the report. The weekly ethanol production report showed a 10,000 barrel per day increase, and a 700,000 barrel stock increase, with futures edging higher. Friday we will see two big USDA numbers: the March Planting Intentions and March Quarterly Grain Stocks report. The average acre guess is 91.034 million acres with a range of 89.7 to 92.5, with stocks at 8.534 billion bushels on a range of 8.205 billion to 8.9 billion bushels. Once we are past Friday, the focus should be on planting and early field work weather. Moisture now is still good and needed in the Corn Belt, but soon it will be supportive to the market. On the May chart, support is at the $3.52 late December low. Resistance is the 10-day at $3.60 which we tested this morning. SOYBEANS Soybean trade is flat to 3 cents lower at midday with trade still grinding along the recently established lower end of the range. Meal is flat to $1 higher and oil is 5 to 15 lower. Long liquidation could always step up but the trade appears to be showing more reluctance to sell new 5-month lows. The report has soybean acreage 88.128 million acres on a range of 85.9 to 90.2 million acres, with stocks at 1.684 billion bushels with a range of 1.627 billion bushels to 1.885 billion. Wet weather in Argentina could cause a fresh round of worries about crop damage but is being ignored for now. On the May soybean chart nearby support is hard to identify with a new low at $9.68 scored Monday. The one-year low is at $9.37 1/4 which is key chart support at this juncture. Resistance is at the 10-day and lowest major moving average at $9.88. WHEAT Wheat trade mixed at midday with Minneapolis wheat leading with gains of a nickel and the winter wheats fractionally lower. Warmer weather should continue to push growth; the 8-14 day forecast looks warmer and drier for much of the belt. Cold threats appear limited in the near term. The firmer dollar is limiting upside as well. On the report,stocks are expected to be 1.627 billion bushels, with a range of 1.450 billion to 1.721 billion. On the May Kansas City contract support is at the daily low at $4.18 3/4 then the $4.11 1/2, contract low. Resistance is at the 10-day at $4.34. Wheat is now over 50 cents below our 9-month high printed in mid-February and not far from the contract lows; this echos the large historic supply side fundamentals we have for wheat. The stocks report on Friday will be a reminder of 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 (ES) Copyright 2017 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved.