DTN Midday Grain Comments 07/18 11:16

DTN Midday Grain Comments 07/18 11:16 Corn, Soybean Futures Higher at Midday; Wheat Mixed Corn futures are 14 to 15 cents higher at midday Tuesday; soybean futures are 13 to 17 cents higher; wheat futures are 3 cents lower to 12 cents higher. David M. Fiala DTN Contributing Analyst MARKET SUMMARY: Corn futures are 14 to 15 cents higher at midday Tuesday; soybean futures are 13 to 17 cents higher; wheat futures are 3 cents lower to 12 cents higher. The U.S. stock market is mixed with the S&P up 13. The U.S. Dollar Index is 1 point higher. Interest rate products are firmer. Energies are firmer with crude 1.30 higher and natural gas up .09. Livestock trade is mixed. Precious metals are firmer with gold up 28.00. CORN: Corn futures are 14 to 15 cents higher at midday with trade popping back from the pullback Monday. There is spillover support from soybeans and grain corridor issues, along with concerns about weather in the second week after conditions improved last week. Short-term weather has rain coverage slowing a little this week with mild temps; the bigger concern is the second week with a warmer-and-drier outlook. Ethanol margins should remain solidly positive even with the corn bounce back in the short term. Basis should remain flat to firmer in the near term. The second crop in Brazil will continue to see harvest push forward, helping world supplies in the short term. Weekly crop progress showed good to excellent 2% better at 57% with 13% poor to very poor; silking was 47% versus 43% on average; 7% was in the dough stage versus 6% on average. On the December chart, we have support at the recent low of $4.81 scored last week, while the 20-day moving average is well above the market at $5.33. SOYBEANS: Soybean futures are 13 to 17 cents higher at midday with trade pressing back to fresh highs with weather concerns in the second week of the forecast with meal leading the product complex. Meal is 6.00 to 7.00 higher and oil is 5 to 15 points higher. Basis should remain mostly steady in the short term. Trade will be watching the more extended forecasts into August to see how conditions look into pod-fill season. Weekly crop progress showed good to excellent 4% higher at 55% with 13% poor to very poor; 56% of the crop blooming versus 51% on average; 20% setting pods versus 17% on average. November chart resistance is the Upper Bollinger Band at $14.06 with the 20-day moving average at $13.38, below the market. WHEAT: Wheat futures are 3 cents lower to 12 cents higher following the lead of the row crops. Harvest pressure is starting to fade for winter wheat, while Minneapolis wheat loses ground on condition improvements and we continue to watch for further Black Sea developments with port attacks and the grain corridor ending. Winter wheat harvest continued to lag on the weekly report at 56% complete versus 69% on average. Spring wheat is 86% headed versus 83% on average and 51% good to excellent, up 4 percentage points, with 14% poor to very poor. The dollar is holding below 100 on the index, and Matif wheat is a bit firmer Tuesday. Weekly export inspections were a bit soft at 253,409 metric tons (mt). On the KC September Chart, the 20-day moving average at $8.28 is the first resistance area which we failed to hold Monday and we are testing it at midday, with $7.92 as support, which we bounced from Thursday. David Fiala can be reached at [email protected] Follow him on Twitter @davidfiala (c) Copyright 2023 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.