DTN Midday Grain Comments 05/23 10:52

DTN Midday Grain Comments 05/23 10:52 Corn Futures Higher at Midday; Soybeans Lower; Wheat Mixed Corn futures are 2 to 3 cents higher at midday Thursday; soybean futures are 5 to 6 cents lower; wheat futures are narrowly mixed. David M. Fiala DTN Contributing Analyst MARKET SUMMARY: Corn futures are 2 to 3 cents higher at midday Thursday; soybean futures are 5 to 6 cents lower; wheat futures are narrowly mixed. The U.S. stock market is mixed at midday with the S&P 10 points higher. The U.S. Dollar Index is 5 higher. The interest rate products are weaker. Energies have crude .40 lower and natural gas unchanged. Livestock trade is mixed. Precious metals are weaker with gold off 50.00. CORN: Corn futures are 2 to 3 cents higher at midday with trade pushing toward the highs of the week with firmer spread action continuing. Ethanol margins are seeing pressure with corn rebounding and unleaded at the lower end of the range to pinch blenders. Planting will be slowed by the systems by another group of storms Thursday with better weather around the storms. Weekly export sales were in line with recent weeks at 911,200 metric tons (mt) of old crop and 305,000 mt of new. South America has little fresh news with little change to the weather patterns for the second crop in Brazil in the short term with disease issues still lingering in Argentina helping support nearby U.S. competitiveness. Basis action should continue to remain mostly sideways. On the July chart the 20-day moving average at $4.59 is now nearby support after we closed back above it Monday with the Upper Bollinger Band as resistance at $4.73. SOYBEANS: Soybean futures are 5 to 6 cents lower at midday with trade reversing from a fresh high scored early in the day session as product action fades. Meal is flat to 1.00 lower and oil is 35 to 45 points lower. South America has Brazil harvest nearly wrapped up with exports still slowed by various issues; Argentina will add to available bushels soon, but talk of U.S. sales off the west coast continues with nothing on the daily export wire yet. Weekly export sales were a little softer at 279,400 mt of old and 65,500 mt of new; meal at 145,300 old and 51,400 new; oil showed -1,000 of old and 4,000 of new. Planting looks to remain slow in the short term with the second week looking better. Basis should remain steady with crush margins finding some improvement. The July soybean futures have resistance at the $12.58 1/2 fresh high. Chart support is at the 20-day moving average at $12.16. WHEAT: Wheat futures are narrowly mixed with trade bouncing back from overnight weakness as we work to consolidate the upper end of the range with KC action leading. Weather should drift back drier for the Plains into the end of the month with temps near average with early harvest coming soon. The dollar remains rangebound with MATIF wheat off a bit at midday. Weekly export sales were sluggish at 17,900 mt of old crop and 224,900 mt of new. The short-term forecast shows little change for the Black Sea growing areas. On the KC July chart, support is the 20-day moving average at $6.68, with the fresh high at $7.19 as resistance with the upper Bollinger Band at $7.15, which we are just below. David Fiala can be reached at dfiala@futuresone.com Follow him on social platform X @davidfiala (c) Copyright 2024 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.