DTN Midday Grain Comments 12/19 12:32

DTN Midday Grain Comments 12/19 12:32 Grains Mixed at Midday Corn is flat to a penny higher, soybeans are 1 to 4 cents lower, winter wheat is mixed with spring wheat a nickel higher. By David Fiala DTN Contributing Analyst General Comments The U.S. stock market is firmer with the Dow up 60. The dollar index is 6 points lower. Interest rate products are firmer. Energies are mostly higher with crude up 25 cents. Livestock trade is mixed. Precious metals are higher with gold up $4. CORN Corn trade is fractionally to a penny higher at midday in slow trade. Outside markets are mostly neutral with the trade gaining some support from the weekly export sales number. A marketing-year high at 1.709 million metric ton was seen on the weekly export sales report. The weekly ethanol report Wednesday showed production down slightly, off 8,000 barrels, and stocks down 17,000 barrels, but ethanol futures are bouncing back Thursday, up 2 cents at midday. Open weather should allow for more clean-up harvest with warmer-than-normal temps expected to hold to Christmas. Basis should stay firm if the board rally stalls. On the March contract, support is at the 20-day moving average at $3.80, with major support at the $3.71 three-month low. Chart resistance is at the 100-day moving average at $3.90, then the 200-day at $4.07. SOYBEANS Soybeans trade is 1 to 4 cents lower at midday with long profit-taking noted following the nice rally over the past two weeks. Meal is $4 lower with bean oil up 50 points. The 60-cent rally this month is believed to be pricing-in friendly news. South American weather and forecasts will continue to be watched day to day. At this juncture, no major change in production expectations due to weather should limit upside. The weekly export sales were good at 1.43 million metric tons of beans, 83,500 metric tons of meal and 28,000 metric tons of bean oil. The January chart support is at the 50-day at $9.18 with resistance at the $9.32 upper Bollinger band, then the 9.59 1/2 nine-month high. WHEAT Wheat trade is slow at midday with Chicago down a penny, KC up a penny and Minneapolis up a nickel. The forecast has some moisture for Kansas along with warmer temps. The weekly export sales were good at 868,600 tons, a marketing-year high. Mexico, the Philippines and Unknown were the three major largest listed buyers on the report. Wheat needs a pattern of friendly demand news to keep the higher trends on the chart in force. The March KC chart support is at the $4.60 200-day moving average then the $4.46 10-day moving average. Resistance is at the $6.68 five-month high then the $5.09 1/2 July high and then the spring high of $5.45. 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 (AG) Copyright 2019 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved.