DTN Midday Grain Comments 03/18 11:20

DTN Midday Grain Comments 03/18 11:20 Grains Mixed at Midday Corn is 5 to 7 cents lower, soybeans are 4 to 8 cents higher, and wheat is 5 to 15 cents higher. By David Fiala DTN Contributing Analyst General Comments The U.S. stock market is weaker with the Dow down 1250 points, giving back yesterday's gains. The dollar index is 150 points higher. Interest rate products are firmer. Energies are sharply lower with crude down 3.80. Livestock trade is mostly lower. Precious metals are weaker with gold down 33.00. CORN Corn trade is 6 to 7 cents lower at midday with trade scoring new lows amid spread unwinding and demand concerns tied to ethanol. Ethanol margins remain very poor, with unleaded futures stabilizing around $0.70 a gallon, and forward ethanol margins sharply negative with the report showing production down 9,000 barrels, and stocks 200,000 barrels higher. Corn basis has eroded sharply at end users to start the week. Rains have worked across much of the belt short term to slow early field work. On the May contract support is the $3.36 area, with resistance the 20-day at $3.75. SOYBEANS Soybean trade is 4 to 8 cents higher at midday with trade fading from 15 cent gains seen early on with trade getting support from meal values and oversold conditions this a.m. Meal is 5.00 to 6.00 higher and oil is 10 to 20 points lower. South America has seen little change this week with harvest mostly moving along, and more rains expected the next two weeks with Brazilian farmers potential looking towards slowing sales as an inflation hedge with the real scoring new lows again along with most other emerging market currencies. New crop soybeans will need to gain vs. corn to provide an acreage incentive with gains this week, but still aways to go. The May soybean chart support is the longer term low at $8.21 scored Monday, with resistance the upper Bollinger Band at 8.70. WHEAT Wheat trade is 5 to 12 cents higher at midday with spread unwinding and short covering offsetting the sharply higher dollar with Kansas City trade leading again. Weather threats for the Plains remain limited with cooler and wetter short term weather. Kansas City Is at a 63-cent discount to Chicago on the May with choppy trade continuing, while Minneapolis is plus 8 to the Chicago. World export business has been quieter in recent days but new tenders are being issued to extend importers to harvest with Russian values sinking as well. The May Kansas City chart support is the lower Bollinger Band at $4.17, with resistance the 20-day at 4.48. 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.