DTN Midday Grain Comments 12/21 10:45

DTN Midday Grain Comments 12/21 10:45 Grain Futures Looking Up Midday Wednesday Corn trade is 7 to 8 cents higher; beans are 1 to 3 cents higher and wheat trade is 5 to 18 cents higher. David M. Fiala DTN Contributing Analyst MARKET SUMMARY: Corn trade is 7 to 8 cents higher; beans are 1 to 3 cents higher and wheat trade is 5 to 18 cents higher. The U.S. stock market is higher with the Dow up 545 points. The U.S. Dollar Index is 0.25 higher. Interest rate products are mixed. Energies are firmer with crude up $1.60 and natural gas up $0.20. Livestock trade is mostly higher. Precious metals are mixed with gold flat. CORN: Corn trade is 7 to 8 cents higher, pressing through nearby resistance at midday Wednesday with lightly firmer spread action as we continue to thin volumes for the holiday. Ethanol margins have stabilized a bit with corn holding the lower end of the range and natural gas backing off the highs, with demand starting to edge higher ahead of the holidays with the weekly report showing production 32,000 barrels per day lower and stocks 342,000 barrels lower. Planting should catch up in Argentina with the improved forecast. The daily export wire was quiet Wednesday. Basis continues to deflate slowly in the west but remains well above average. On the March chart, support is at our recent low of $6.35 with the lower Bollinger Band just below that at $6.33. Resistance is at the $6.53 20-day moving average, which we are above at midday, with the upper Bollinger Band at $6.75 the next level up. SOYBEANS: Soybean trade is 1 to 3 cents higher at midday with trade working the upper end of the range with crush margins keeping support in place while we wait for further South American weather development. Meal is $1.50 to $2.50 higher and oil is 0.05 to 0.15 cent higher. Brazil looks to remain in good shape short term, while the Argentina improvement will need to continue with the forecast in flux. The daily export wire has been fairly quiet in recent days with nothing showing up Wednesday while spreads remain flat to firm. Basis remains mostly sideways near term. January chart support is at the $14.63 20-day, which we closed just above with resistance at the $14.99 upper Bollinger Band and the $14.93 3/4 two-month high. WHEAT: Wheat trade is 5 to 18 cents higher with winter wheat leading in continued choppy trade at the lower end of the range with the cold snap adding support along with positive spillover from the row crops. The Southern Plains look to remain mostly dry short term with some cover ahead of the cold snap and warmer weather to follow. Southern Hemisphere harvest continues to move ahead with mixed results so far. Matif wheat values remain at the lower end of the recent range as well. On the chart, KC March has support at the lower Bollinger Band at $8.13 and the fresh low at $8.27 still above those levels. Resistance is at the $8.65 20-day, which we are just below. David Fiala can be reached at [email protected] Follow him on Twitter @davidfiala (c) Copyright 2022 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.