DTN Midday Grain Comments 01/04 11:31

DTN Midday Grain Comments 01/04 11:31 All Grains Higher at Midday Grains are firmer across the board at midday. By David Fiala DTN Contributing Analyst General Comments The U.S. stock market indices are firmer today with the Dow up 600. The interest rate products are firmer. The dollar index is 13 lower. Energies are firmer with crude up $0.80. Livestock trade is mostly lower. Precious metals are mixed with gold down $10. CORN Corn trade is 2 to 3 cents higher at midday with trade trying to build on the strong finish yesterday and move through nearby resistance. Corn has moved back to a more neutral reading. Corn basis looks to be flat with improved weather allowing for better movement this week. The ethanol margins remain poor with ethanol futures edging higher to keep pace with higher corn trade, getting back to $1.30 a gallon, with unleaded edging higher to stabilize blender margins. On the March chart trade has cleared the multiple moving averages clustered in the $3.78-$3.80 area, which is now our support, we moved above the next resistance at $3.87 3/4 so the $3.87 3/4 December high is now notable support. SOYBEANS Soybean trade is 6 to 8 cents higher at midday with more buying on weather concerns ongoing in South America and hopes for trade progress. Meal is $2.00 to $3.00 higher with oil 10 to 20 points higher. South America remains in the recent weather pattern with harvest going early amid heat and pockets of dryness in Brazil, and excessive rain potential in Argentina. Basis will provide signals on the quantity of nearby cash business getting done with flat trade through the holidays and the roll to the March contract and little action seen this week. South American currencies have moved back to the upper end of the range. March support is the 20-day at $9.11, and resistance is the at the $9.31 200-day then the upper Bollinger Band at $9.39. WHEAT Wheat trade is 3 to 7 cents higher at midday with trade building on the breakout higher yesterday with the higher protein classes of wheat leading. The dollar is carving out more of a range with early-week strength fading back on a retest of the recent lows. Australian harvest will continue in the near term, along with Argentina. North American winter wheat should have snow cover on the western Plains, protecting late-emerging wheat with the late week warm up likely to remove cover and potentially promote growth, which could increase vulnerability to cold snaps. Russia has continued to export aggressively with domestic prices rising. On the March Kansas City chart, support is the 20-day at $5.05 with the next level of resistance the 50-day at $5.07 3/4 then the upper Bollinger Band at $5.24. David Fiala is a DTN contributing analyst and the President of FuturesOne and a registered adviser He can be reached at [email protected] Follow him on Twitter @davidfiala (BAS) Copyright 2019 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved.