DTN Midday Grain Comments 04/17 11:11

DTN Midday Grain Comments 04/17 11:11 Corn Leads Grains Lower at Midday No buying enthusiasm around to start the week other than soybean oil that is seeing some short covering. By David Fiala DTN Contributing Analyst General Comments The U.S. stock market indices are higher with the Dow up 110 points. The interest rate products are mostly higher. The dollar index is 45 points lower. Energies are mixed with crude down $0.10. Livestock trade is mixed with cattle firmer. Precious metals are higher with gold up 2.80. CORN Corn trade is 4 cents lower at midday with some longs exiting this morning following no upside even with higher opening calls last night. The lack of upside follow-though buying had market bulls concerned here at midday. Ethanol margins should remain stable with corn lower which helps provide good support in the low end of our range as does concerns over planted acreage. The center of the belt looks wet which should slow planting and fieldwork activity which was behind higher opening calls last night. Planting progress is likely going to say just behind normal on the progress report this afternoon. The weekly export inspections were good at 1.328 million metric tons. On the May chart support is the 100-day at $3.66 then the 20-day at $3.62. Resistance is at the 1-month high printed on Friday at $3.73 then the one-year high at $3.87 1/4 printed in February. SOYBEANS Soybean trade is steady to fractionally lower at midday with downside limited by soybean oil short covering. Meal is $3 to $4 lower but soybean oil is 60 to 70 points higher. Beans saw some lightly upside follow-through but found resistance at the 20-day with trade in lower territory at midday. The weekly export inspections were softer at 430,897 metric tons. Support on May beans is at the $9.44 10-day then the $9.29 3/4 1-year low printed last Tuesday following the negative USDA reports. Resistance is at the $9.62 20-day moving average which we tested overnight. Overall this has been a mixed session with bears still not looking to pile on shorts here, but market bulls facing an uphill battle due to the higher soybean acreage. The overnight high was just over 30 cents above the fresh 1-year low. That is a 20% retracement of the January-April break. WHEAT Wheat trade is a penny lower on Minneapolis but 8 lower on Kansas City and Chicago at midday due to better rains expected to continue to improve conditions. Spring wheat areas look wet enough to keep planting behind our normal pace on the weekly progress report. Warm weather will encourage growth before the cold snap at the end of the week. The dollar set back should add support, but we remain in the upper end of the range overall, so not today. The weekly export inspections were better at 671,868 metric tons. On the May Kansas City contract support is at the $4.15 four-month low with resistance at the $4.25 20-day moving average. David Fiala is a DTN contributing analyst and the President of FuturesOne and a registered adviser. David Fiala can be reached at dfiala@futuresone.com Follow him on Twitter @davidfiala (BAS) Copyright 2017 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved.