DTN Midday Grain Comments 07/18 11:29

DTN Midday Grain Comments 07/18 11:29 All Grains Higher at Midday Trade is higher across the board at midday but off highs. By David Fiala DTN Contributing Analyst General Comments The U.S. stock market indices are lower with the Dow futures down 85 points. The interest rate products are higher. The dollar index is 55 lower. Energies are lightly higher with crude up 0.17. Livestock trade is mostly lower. Precious metals are higher with gold up $7.80. CORN Corn trade is 6 to 7 cents higher at midday with a 4 cent gap higher after the conditions declined slightly overall, but showed bigger losses in the key growing areas, trade has backed a little bit off the overnight highs. Some rains have visited the dry areas of the western belt but overall coverage is still short with the anticipated near term heat. Weather viewpoints are conflicting with good rain potential in some areas battling concerns with heat in much of the western belt with more pollination going on this week. Ethanol futures have edged higher working to support margins. The weekly crop progress report had conditions down 1% at 64% good to excellent, and 11% poor to very poor with silking at 40% vs. 53% last year, and 47% on average. On the December chart support is the $3.91 20- and 50-day moving average which is also the area of the gap, then resistance is the $4.00 10-day which we tested overnight. SOYBEANS Soybean trade is 14 to 18 cents higher at midday with the decline in conditions helping to fuel buying overnight with a 2 cent gap. Meal is $5.00 to $6.00 higher, and 40 to 50 higher. The NOPA crush was 138 million bushels, below expectations of 142.38 million, but oil stocks were below expectations at 1.703 million lbs. The weekly crop progress had conditions down 1% at 61% good to excellent, and 11% poor to very poor, with 52% blooming and 16% setting pods, 1% above average on both. On the November chart support is at the 200-day moving average at $9.84 with resistance at the 10-day at $10.12 which we are just above at midday, with last week's highs at $10.47 resistance. WHEAT Wheat trade is 7 to 22 cents higher at midday with Minneapolis trade leading overnight with further condition declines along with the sharply lower dollar adding support. Spread trade remains very soft for the winter wheat, and spring wheat went back to a small carry last week, with September gaining slightly this morning. Crop progress showed spring wheat down 1 percentage point at 34% good to excellent, and 41% poor to very poor, 91% headed 4 percentage points ahead of average, and winter wheat harvest at 75%, 2 percentage points ahead of average, with export inspections OK at 587,627 metric tons. On the December Kansas City contract support is the 50-day at $5.06 with the 20-day at $5.42 resistance, which we tested overnight. David Fiala is a DTN contributing analyst and the President of FuturesOne and a registered Advisor. He can be reached at [email protected] Follow him on Twitter @davidfiala (BAS) Copyright 2017 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved.