DTN Midday Grain Comments 01/09 11:21

DTN Midday Grain Comments 01/09 11:21 Grains Mixed at Midday Corn and wheat are the midday leader, with soybeans weaker. By David Fiala DTN Contributing Analyst General Comments The U.S. stock market indices are higher at midday with the Dow futures up 100 points. The interest rate products are higher. The dollar index is 15 higher. Energies are higher with crude up 0.40. Livestock trade is lower for cattle, mixed for hogs. Precious metals are lower with gold 8.20 lower. CORN Corn trade is 2 cents higher at midday with trade working back towards the $3.50 level on the March contract. Ethanol futures are expected to remain at the lower end of the range with winter driving demand adding pressure, while blender margins remain good with unleaded still elevated with futures edging higher today. Corn basis and carry remains fairly steady. Warmer weather should help ethanol output, but cold weather is back this weekend. Livestock efficiency should struggle with the very cold spells and changing weather, that is okay for feed demand in the bigger picture. South American weather remains mixed in the short term with more of the crop entering the reproductive cycle into the middle of the month. On the March chart support is the $3.46 1/2 contract low. Resistance is at the 20-day moving average at 3.50 1/2 then the 50-day at $3.54. SOYBEANS Soybean trade is 3 to 5 cents lower in quiet trade at midday with little fresh news today. Meal is $3 to $4 lower and oil is flat to 10 points higher. South American weather looks to stay mostly dry in Argentina in the near term with the medium-term forecast lacking consistency in rain placement, along with northeast Brazil remaining fairly dry, and southern Brazil in good shape. Basis and carry remains mostly sideways. The export wire showed signs of life yesterday for the first time in 2018, and trade will be watching closely to see if it continues with nothing announced today. On the March, support is the recent low at $9.54, and resistance the 10-day at $9.65. WHEAT Wheat trade is flat to 5 cents higher with Kansas City trade leading action at midday, moving back towards the next resistance levels. The winter kill losses from the recent cold stretch won't be apparent until later in spring, with dryness the larger concern again, while Russia has been warmer than normal, with minimal snow cover in case of a cold stretch. The Northern Plains should get some moisture with the midweek winter storm. The dollar is trying to consolidate back over 92 on the index. On the March Kansas City contract, chart support is the 50-day at $4.32 that we tested overnight, with the 100-day at $4.43 as the next level of resistance. 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 2018 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved.