DTN Midday Grain Comments 12/22 10:50

DTN Midday Grain Comments 12/22 10:50 Corn, Soybean Futures Lower; Wheat Mixed Corn futures are 1 to 2 cents lower at midday Thursday; soybean futures are 9 to 10 cents lower; wheat futures are 4 cents lower to 6 cents higher. David M. Fiala DTN Contributing Analyst MARKET SUMMARY: Corn futures are 1 to 2 cents lower at midday Thursday; soybean futures are 9 to 10 cents lower; wheat futures are 4 cents lower to 6 cents higher. The U.S. stock market is weaker with the DOW off 455 points. The U.S. Dollar Index is 25 points higher. Interest rate products are firmer. Energies are mixed with crude up .05 and natural gas off .10. Livestock trade is mostly higher. Precious metals are weaker with gold off 20.00. CORN: Corn futures are 1 to 2 cents lower in quiet midday trade as we continue to drift toward the Christmas break with little fresh news. Ethanol margins have stabilized a bit with corn staying range-bound and natural gas backing off the highs, with demand starting to edge higher ahead of the holidays despite the winter storm. Planting should catch up some in Argentina with the improved forecast. The daily export wire was quiet Thursday. Basis continues to deflate slowly in the west but remains well above average. Weekly export sales remained flat at 636,800 metric tons (mt). On the March chart, support is at the $6.53 20-day moving average, which we closed solidly above Wednesday, with the Upper Bollinger Band at $6.75 is the next level up as resistance. SOYBEANS: Soybean futures are 9 to 10 cents lower at midday with trade holding the upper end of the range and product action softening and little fresh South American weather news. Meal is $4.50 to $5.50 lower and oil is 40 to 55 points lower. 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 recently with nothing showing up Thursday while spreads turn a little softer. Weekly export sales were mixed with 736,000 mt of soybeans sold, meal sales of 311,400 mt, and oil at 800 mt. Basis remains mostly sideways near-term. January chart support is at the $14.65 20-day moving average, which we are just above, with resistance at the $14.99 upper Bollinger band and the $14.93 3/4 two-month high. WHEAT: Wheat futures are 4 cents lower to 6 cents higher with trade trying to test nearby resistance with the midweek bounce with spread action staying fairly firm and KC leading on the colder weather. The Southern Plains look to remain mostly dry short-term with some cover ahead of the cold snap with warmer weather to follow next week with some moisture potential sticking around. 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 with slightly softer action Thursday. Weekly export sales were range-bound at 334,200 mt. 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 $8.63 20-day moving average we are trading just above at midday. David Fiala can be reached at [email protected] Follow him on Twitter @davidfiala (c) Copyright 2022 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.