DTN Midday Grain Comments 02/26 11:03

DTN Midday Grain Comments 02/26 11:03 Wheat Trending Higher at Midday Corn is narrowly mixed at midday, soybeans are 5 to 7 cents higher, and wheat is flat to 3 cents higher. By David Fiala DTN Contributing Analyst General Comments The U.S. stock market is firmer with the Dow up 400. The dollar index is 15 higher. Interest rate products are mostly firmer. Energies are mixed with crude up $0.20. Livestock trade is firmer. Precious metals are weaker with gold down $9.50. CORN Corn trade is narrowly mixed midday with trade holding the lower end of the range with trade struggling to follow soybeans and wheat. Ethanol margins remain tight with ethanol futures holding the low end of the range, with the weekly report showing a production bump of 14,000 barrels per day, while stocks were down 63,000 barrels. 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. USDA announced 123,000 metric tons of optional-origin corn sold to South Korea. 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 $3.73, which are just below. SOYBEANS Soybean trade is 5 to 8 centS higher with trade finding better buying mid-morning as trade closes back in on $9.00 on the May contract. Meal is $5.00 to $6.00 higher, and oil flat to 10 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 ral remains very cheap as well hurting US export competitiveness near term with new lows scored this week. New crop soybeans will need to gain vs. corn to provide an acreage incentive ahead of planting in the U.S. with positive action today. The March soybean chart support is the lower Bollinger Band at $8.69, with resistance the 20-day at $8.85, which we are testing at midday. WHEAT Wheat trade is flat to 2 cents higher with trade looking to continue to hold the lower end of the range and light buying again after early weakness. Weather threats for the Plains remain limited with mostly warmer short-term weather after the recent rain and snow. Kansas City is at an 85-cent discount to Chicago, with choppy action so far while Minneapolis is back to a 22 cent discount as well, narrowing sharply from last weeks action. Partial condition reports Monday 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 $4.54, which we are just above at midday. 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.