DTN Midday Grain Comments 03/13 10:53

DTN Midday Grain Comments 03/13 10:53 Corn Futures Higher at Midday; Soybeans, Wheat Lower Corn futures are 1 to 2 cents higher at midday Wednesday; soybean futures are 3 to 4 cents lower; wheat futures are 4 to 10 cents lower. David M. Fiala DTN Contributing Analyst MARKET SUMMARY: Corn futures are 1 to 2 cents higher at midday Wednesday; soybean futures are 3 to 4 cents lower; wheat futures are 4 to 10 cents lower. The U.S. stock market is mixed at midday with the S&P 9 points lower. The U.S. Dollar Index is 15 points lower. The interest rate products are mostly lower. Energies have crude 1.50 higher and natural gas is off .04. Livestock trade is mostly higher led by cattle. Precious metals are firmer with gold up $11.20. CORN: Corn futures are 1 to 2 cents higher at midday with trade firming back from early weakness to continue to work just below nearby resistance. Ethanol margins will likely continue to struggle in the short term with the weekly report showing production declining by 33,000 barrels per day (bpd) and stocks 269,000 barrels lower. Weekly export sales of corn are expected to be in the 750,000 to 1.0 million metric ton (mmt) range Thursday. Basis has remained pretty flat with fieldwork taking priority. Early second-crop corn should continue to progress in Brazil with planting pace still solidly ahead of average with some dryness concern in the extended forecast. On the May chart, the 20-day moving average at $4.29 is nearby support with the Upper Bollinger Band at $4.45 the next round up, which we faded from Tuesday. SOYBEANS: Soybean futures are 3 to 4 cents lower at midday with meal the downside leader Wednesday morning as oil consolidates gains and we remain in the upper end of the range overall after scoring fresh highs for the move Tuesday. Meal is $5.00 to $6.00 lower and oil is 70 to 80 points higher. South American weather should allow for Brazil harvest to continue to progress well past the halfway point with little change to Argentina conditions for now. Weekly export sales of soybeans are expected to be in the 150,000 to 300,000 metric ton (mt) range. Basis should remain flat in the short term domestically. May soybeans have support at the 20-day moving average at $11.62. The $11.97 Upper Bollinger band is the next level of resistance above the fresh high at $11.96 1/2 scored Wednesday, which is just below support. WHEAT: Wheat futures are 4 to 10 cents lower at midday with trade chopping just below the next level of resistance so far after fading from the top of range Tuesday. No cancellations were announced Wednesday, concluding three days of China cancellations. Weekly export sales of wheat are expected to be near zero with cancellations. The Plains will see warm temps in the short term before a cooler stretch expected later in the month with moisture potential a bit lighter in the immediate term. The U.S. dollar remains at the lower end of the range while MATIF wheat continues to hold above the recent lows even with a solid pullback Wednesday morning. On the KC May chart, support is at the 20-day moving average at $5.77, which we pushed past Monday. Resistance is the upper Bollinger Band at $6.01 the next round up, which we tested Tuesday. David Fiala can be reached at dfiala@futuresone.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @davidfiala. (c) Copyright 2024 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.