DTN Early Word Grains 12/22 05:50

DTN Early Word Grains 12/22 05:50 Grains Higher, Products Lower Ahead of Export Sales March corn is up 2 1/4 cents per bushel, January soybeans are up 1 1/2 cents, and March KC wheat is up 5 1/4 cents. Tregg Cronin DTN Contributing Analyst PRE-6 AM GLOBEX PRICES: March corn is up 2 1/4 cents per bushel, January soybeans are up 1 1/2 cents, and March KC wheat is up 5 1/4 cents. CME GLOBEX RECAP: Mixed to mostly steady stock prices around the globe overnight with U.S. futures mostly flat early Thursday morning. Strong consumer data the previous session bolstered equities in the United States Wednesday, keeping investors puzzled as to whether they would rather see good data or bad data to influence Federal Reserve decisions. Energy markets have maintained their uptrends this week with crude oil up another $1.51 overnight as spot prices push toward $80.00 per barrel. Temperatures do look to warm next week, taking some upward pressure off natural gas. The U.S. Dollar Index is slightly lower, but inside recent ranges. Metals are weaker with silver leading losses, down 1.30%. Grains are mostly higher while soy products are lower. OUTSIDE MARKETS: Previous closes Wednesday showed the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 526.74 at 33,376.48 and the S&P 500 up 56.82 at 3,821.62 while the 10-Year Treasury yield ended at 3.684%. Early Thursday, the March DJIA futures are down 25 points. Asian markets are mixed with Japan's Nikkei 225 up 120.15 (0.46%) and China's Shanghai Composite down 13.98 points (-0.46%). European markets are mixed with London's FTSE 100 up 23.81 points (0.32%), Germany's DAX down 24.85 points (-0.18%) and France's CAC 40 down 6.06 points (-0.09%). The March Euro is up 0.001 at 1.070 and the March U.S. Dollar Index is down 0.147 at 103.700. The March 30-Year T-Bond is up 15/32nds, while February gold is down $1.80 at $1,823.60 and February crude oil is up $1.52 at $79.81. Corn on China's Dalian Exchange was up 0.32% while soybeans were down 0.28% and soybean meal was up 0.44%.