DTN Midday Grain Comments 02/07 11:17

DTN Midday Grain Comments 02/07 11:17 Corn, Wheat Higher at Midday The U.S. stock market is weaker with the Dow down 170. The dollar index is 20 points higher. Interest rate products are weaker. Energies are flat with crude unchanged. Livestock trade is mostly higher led by hogs. Precious metals are flat to weaker with gold unchanged. By David Fiala DTN Contributing Analyst General Comments CORN Corn trade is 1 to 4 cents higher with buying showing up during the day session and firmer spread trade reflecting upfront interest. Ethanol margins remain soft, with the energy complex remaining weak, narrowing blender margins along with producer margins. Corn basis remains steady to firm, with movement possible slowed again with some snow moving through. On the March contract support is the lower Bollinger Band and the fresh lows at $3.76, then the $3.71 four-month low, with resistance at the $3.94 recent 2 1/2 month high with the 20-day just above the market at $3.84 which we are just below at midday. SOYBEANS Soybeans trade is narrowly mixed as trade continued to hold to the $8.80 area nearby but broader short covering remains limited. Meal is $2.00 to $3.00 higher with oil 35 to 45 points lower. South America continues to make good progress with weather and harvest moving forward with little change on the horizon. The Brazilian ral 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 nearby. The March soybean chart support is the $8.56 lower Bollinger Band, with resistance well above the market at the $9.00 level. WHEAT Wheat trade is 1 to 4 cents higher at midday with choppy trade continuing at the lower end of the recent range. South Korea bought varying classes of U.S. wheat overnight. Weather threats for the plains remain limited near term domestically. Kansas City is at a 88-cent discount to Chicago near the top of the recent range, while Minneapolis is back to a 21-cent discount. World values remain mostly elevated with Chicago wheat expensive, and Kansas City wheat cheaper on world scale. The March Kansas City chart support the lower Bollinger Band at $4.60, with resistance the 20-day at $4.82. 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.