DTN Midday Grain Comments 09/20 10:52

DTN Midday Grain Comments 09/20 10:52 Corn, Soybean Futures Higher at Midday; Wheat Lower Corn futures are 2 to 3 cents higher at midday Wednesday; soybean futures are 1 to 3 cents higher; wheat trade is 1 to 6 cents lower. David M. Fiala DTN Contributing Analyst MARKET SUMMARY: Corn futures are 2 to 3 cents higher at midday Wednesday; soybean futures are 1 to 3 cents higher; wheat trade is 1 to 6 cents lower. The U.S. stock market is mixed with the S&P up 5. The U.S. Dollar Index is 35 points lower. Interest rate products are firmer. Energies are mixed with crude .65 higher and natural gas off .10. Livestock trade is mixed with hogs leading. Precious metals are firmer with gold 12.00 higher. CORN: Corn futures are 2 to 3 cents higher in quiet midday trade as we continue to firm off the early week lows. Harvest will continue to expand for a couple more days before rains move through the west. Ethanol margins should remain stable, but near-term driving demand has softened a bit with the weekly report showing production declining by 59,000 barrels per day (bpd) and stocks rose by 510,000 barrels. Basis should flatten out a bit more as harvest moves are being built in. On the December chart, we continue to work below the 20-day moving average at $4.82 3/4 as resistance, with the fresh low at $4.67 3/4. SOYBEANS: Soybean futures are 1 to 3 cents higher at midday with trade working to score a short-term low after the early week washout. Harvest continues to expand in the short term while meal pushes sharply higher Wednesday morning. Meal is 6.50 to 7.50 higher and oil is 85 to 95 points lower. The daily wire saw the second sale of the week with 120,000 metric tons (mt) sold to unknown. Basis will erode more into harvest with river concerns remaining as the Mississippi River is near the lowest flows of the year with more than one rain system needed to improve things. South American weather is keeping rains to southern Brazil and northern Argentina so far with planting to expand more shortly. November chart support is the Lower Bollinger Band at $13.14, with resistance the 20-day moving average at $13.61. WHEAT: Wheat futures are 1 to 6 cents lower with trade pushing back to resistance levels overnight before fading back into the middle of the range after failing again to extend gains. Matif wheat is firmer at midday with the dollar just off the highs. Plains planting progress should be boosted by potential moisture in the extended forecast. The first ships have sailed out of Ukraine ports with trade watching to see how traffic picks up. On the KC December chart, the 20-day moving average at $7.38 is resistance and support is the lower Bollinger Band at $7.13, which we bounced off last week. David Fiala can be reached at [email protected] Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @davidfiala (c) Copyright 2023 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.