DTN Midday Grain Comments 02/25 11:09

DTN Midday Grain Comments 02/25 11:09 Grains Mixed at Midday Corn is narrowly mixed at midday, soybeans are 2 to 4 cents higher, and wheat is flat to 3 cents higher. By David Fiala DTN Contributing Analyst General Comments The U.S. stock market is weaker with the Dow down 335. The dollar index is 40 lower. Interest rate products are weaker. Energies are weaker with crude down $0.75. Livestock trade is mostly lower. Precious metals are weaker with gold down 25.00. CORN Corn trade is narrowly mixed at midday with trade looking to collect itself after the headline selling to start the week. Ethanol margins remain tight with ethanol futures holding the low end of the range, while the energy complex sees further pressure. Corn basis remains steady, with little change in recent days but more open weather should help movement along with March basis contracts coming due this week. On the March contract support is the lower Bollinger Band and the fresh lows at $3.70 marked yesterday, with resistance at the lower Bollinger band at $3.74, which we tested overnight. SOYBEANS Soybean trade is 2 to 4 cents higher at midday with trade working back off the lows from yesterday. Meal is flat to $1.00 higher, and oil 20 to 30 points lower. South America continues to make good progress with weather and harvest moving forward with little change on the horizon with some rain delays in Brazil keeping harvest off the average pace. The Brazilian real remains very cheap as well hurting U.S. export competitiveness near term with new lows scored this week, but some strength this a.m. New-crop soybeans will need to gain vs. corn to provide an acreage incentive ahead of planting in the U.S. with little progress so far this spring. The March soybean chart support is the lower Bollinger Band at $8.69, with resistance the 20-day at $8.85. WHEAT Wheat trade is flat to 3 cents higher with trade turning back positive midday after early weakness. Weather threats for the Plains remain limited with mostly warmer short term weather. Kansas City is at an 84-cent discount to Chicago, widening a nickel from the a.m. while Minneapolis is back to a 22 cent discount as well, narrowing sharply from last week's action. Partial condition reports yesterday showed no major issues so far for the Plains states. World export business has been quieter in recent days. The March Kansas City chart support is $4.50 with resistance the lower Bollinger Band at $4.56. 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.