DTN Midday Grain Comments 12/16 10:53

DTN Midday Grain Comments 12/16 10:53 Grains Mixed at Midday Corn is 1 to 2 cents higher, soybeans are flat to 2 cents higher and wheat is 4 to 10 cents lower. David M. Fiala DTN Contributing Analyst The U.S. stock market is flat with the Dow down 20. The dollar index is 15 lower. Interest rate products are mixed. Energies are mixed with crude down $0.20. Livestock trade is mixed with hogs leading. Precious metals are firmer with gold up $5. CORN Corn trade is 1 to 2 cents higher at midday with trade challenging nearby resistance levels again with spillover support from soybeans early on with spreads remaining firm. The weekly ethanol report showed production down 34,000 barrels per day, with another large stocks build of 867,000 barrels. Stocks are nearly 23 million barrels as demand remains weak. Basis is expected to remain sideways with storms slowing some movement and export shipments still capacity constrained. On the March contract, support is the lower Bollinger band at $4.18 with the 20-day at $4.26 remaining resistance, which we are just above at midday. The next level up is the upper Bollinger band at $4.34. SOYBEANS Soybeans trade is flat to 2 cents higher at midday with trade showing firmer spread action after breaking through the upside Tuesday. But strength has faded substantially at midday with the export wire remaining quiet. Meal is $5 to $6 higher, and oil is flat to 10 points higher. Basis remains strong as we continue to ship and crush at a good clip with NOPA crush coming in strong at 181.3 million bushels. Rains look to favor central Brazil and northern Argentina short term with northern Brazil getting the short end of the stick. The January chart has resistance at the upper Bollinger band and contract high at $12, with support the 20-day at $11.71. WHEAT Wheat trade is 4 to 10 cents lower at midday with early gains washing out as trade heads back to test support with little fresh news to push trade again. The dollar is back to the lows, but another round lower will likely be needed to boost U.S. business with Russian values starting to elevate more. The Plains saw snow in places, but overall, moisture remains short. KC is at a 36-cent discount to Chicago on the March with active trade continuing, with Minneapolis at -42. KC March chart support is the 20-day at $5.56, which we are testing at midday, and resistance is the upper Bollinger band at $5.79. David Fiala is a DTN contributing analyst and the President of FuturesOne and a registered adviser. He can be reached at [email protected] Follow him on Twitter @davidfiala (c) Copyright 2020 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.