DTN Midday Grain Comments 02/06 11:11

DTN Midday Grain Comments 02/06 11:11 All Grains Lower at Midday The U.S. stock market is firmer with the Dow up 75. The dollar index is 20 points higher. Interest rate products are mixed. Energies are firmer with crude up $0.50. Livestock trade is firmer with hogs leading. Precious metals are firmer with gold up $4.80. By David Fiala DTN Contributing Analyst General Comments CORN Corn trade is 3 to 4 cents lower at midday with trade fading back to the lower end of the range again, with buying remaining in short supply so far despite strong weekly export sales again. Ethanol margins remain soft, with the energy complex slow in building gains, and even with weekly stock drops, we remain very well supplied with ethanol keeping ethanol margins flat to lower. Corn basis remains steady to firm, with movement possible slowed again with some snow moving through. Weekly export sales were strong again at 1.25 million metric tons. On the March contract support is the lower Bollinger Band and the fresh lows at $3.76, then the $3.71 4-month low, with resistance at the $3.94 recent 2 1/2 month high with the 20-day just above the market at $3.85. SOYBEANS Soybeans trade is 1 to 3 cents lower at midday with the recent pattern of overnight strength continuing, before giving way to light selling at midday. Meal is flat to $1.00 lower, and oil is narrowly mixed. South America continues to make good progress with weather and harvest moving forward. The Brazilian real remains very cheap as well hurting U.S. export competitiveness near term, with their values sliding and nearby offers well under U.S. values for spring-time slots with China actively sourcing from Brazil while the daily wire has been quiet this week for old and new crop. Weekly export sales were led by product sales again with 212,700 metric tons of meal, and 52,900 of oil, and 703,800 of soybeans. The March soybean chart support is the $8.57 lower Bollinger Band, with resistance well above the market at the $9.00 level. WHEAT Wheat trade is 2 to 6 cents lower at midday with trade giving back the late gains yesterday overnight keeping the choppier trend in play with little fresh wheat news. Weather threats for the plains remain limited near term domestically. KC is at an 88-cent discount to Chicago near the top of the recent range, while Minneapolis is back to a 24-cent discount. World values remain mostly elevated with Chicago wheat expensive, and KC wheat cheaper on the world scale. Weekly export sales softened a bit at 338,600 metric tons. The March KC chart support the lower Bollinger Band at $4.60, with resistance the 20-day at $4.84. 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 2020 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved.