DTN Midday Grain Comments 04/02 11:32

DTN Midday Grain Comments 04/02 11:32 Grain Trade Mixed After Early Gains Fade The U.S. stock market indices are weaker at midday with the DOW futures down 470 points. The interest rate products are higher. The dollar index is 10 points lower. Energies are weaker with crude $1.50 lower. Livestock trade is mostly lower with hogs seeing the most pressure. Precious metals are higher with gold up $15. By David Fiala DTN Contributing Analyst General Comments The U.S. stock market indices are weaker at midday with the DOW futures down 470 points. The interest rate products are higher. The dollar index is 10 points lower. Energies are weaker with crude $1.50 lower. Livestock trade is mostly lower with hogs seeing the most pressure. Precious metals are higher with gold up $15. CORN Corn trade is a penny higher at midday with trade pulling back from the fresh highs scored on the December contract overnight. Early fieldwork looks to remain slow for the bulk of the belt, especially for the Mississippi Delta and Ohio Valley with cold wet conditions. Ethanol margins should remain positive, but ethanol futures are sharply lower this morning amid widespread trade concerns. On the March Planting Intentions numbers, corn planting intentions were at 88.0 million acres versus 89.4 expected and 90 million last year. The March 1 Quarterly stocks were at 8.888 billion bushels versus 8.703 billion expected. Weekly export inspections remained solid at 1.368 million metric tons. On the May chart we are back above the major moving averages, with the 20-day at $3.83, with resistance at the $3.95 1/4 seven-month high printed just over 2 weeks ago. SOYBEANS Soybean trade is 1-to-3 cents lower at midday. The fresh highs scored overnight gave way to selling with trade concerns, harvest pressure and shifting acre speculation weighing on the market. Meal is $3.00-to-$4.00 lower and oil is 10 to 20 points higher. South American harvest will continue to progress with some late showers in Argentina. The March USDA Planting Intentions number was friendly for soybeans at 89.0 million acres versus an expected range of 89.9-to-92.1 million and average of 90.9 million acres. The quarterly soybean stocks were a reminder of the large old crop stocks; the trade was expecting a March 1 number just above 2 billion bushels and it came in at 2.107 billion bushels. Weekly export inspections were soft at 542,434 metric tons. On the May contract, support is now the 20-day at $10.41, which we are testing at midday, and resistance the upper Bollinger band at $10.79. WHEAT Wheat trade is 2 cents higher to 4 cents lower at midday with KC trade leading with continued dry weather in the west ahead of the first national condition report Monday. Wheat stocks were 1.494 billion bushes versus 1.482 billion bushels expected, versus 1.657 billion a year ago. The winter wheat acreage was 32.7 versus 32.6 million acres with spring at 12.6, and durum at 2.0 million versus 13.1-to-13.5 million; with total wheat acreage at 47.3 million versus 46 million acres expected. Warmer weather for the Black Sea and Continental Europe should help to support growth there. The weekly export inspections showed improvement at 361,723 metric tons. Conditions and progress are expected to be below normal Monday afternoon, with light improvement in Kansas and Oklahoma. On the May KC wheat support is the 100-day at 4.66, with the 10-day at $4.71 chart resistance then the 50-day at $4.88. 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 him on Twitter @davidfiala (BAS) Copyright 2018 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved.