DTN Closing Grain Comments

By Darin Newsom
DTN Analyst

General Comments:

March corn was down 6 3/5 cents at $3.48 1/4 with new-crop December 2017 6 cents lower at $3.78 1/4. March soybeans finished 8 cents lower at $10.16 1/2 with new-crop November 2017 down 6 1/2 cents to $9.96. March Chicago wheat closed 8 cents lower at $4.01 1/2, March Kansas City lost 9 1/4 cents to $4.09 1/2, and March Minneapolis fell 7 3/4 cents to close at $5.31 1/4. The U.S. dollar index was 0.32 higher at 103.36. February gold was $3.60 higher at $1,142.40 while March silver was $0.066 higher and March copper dipped $0.0120. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 98 points to 19,846. February crude oil was up $0.37 at $54.27. The January distillates (heating oil) contract was $0.0156 higher, January RBOB gasoline gained $0.0264, and January natural gas added $0.169.

Corn:

The corn market was under pressure throughout Wednesday's session, eventually giving back about two-thirds of Tuesday's rally. Futures spreads were flat, indicating most of the selling interest came from the investment side of the market. Commercial traders remain interested, and a continued sell-off could spark renewed buying action before the end of the week. Looking ahead to Thursday, the market could continue to grind lower on light follow-through selling.

Soybeans:

Late morning Wednesday saw soybean contracts posting double-digit losses, hinting at the possibility of completely erasing Tuesday's strong rally. However, the market seemed to lose some of its bearish momentum allowing contracts to trim losses though the close. Still, with much of Tuesday's gains still on the table it would not be surprising to see follow-through selling overnight. If China's Dalian soybean market and Malaysian palm oil futures trade higher, it could be enough to limit possible pressure in Chicago soybeans.

Wheat:

Wheat did pretty much what would be expected after 1) posting new contract lows last week before 2) rallying double-digits coming out of the three-day holiday weekend. Wednesday saw both Chicago and Kansas City move lower again, with the latter losing about 9 cents at the close. The markets remain fundamentally bearish, as indicated by renewed commercial selling in Chicago. While wheat could see light follow-through pressure overnight, it would be just as likely for buyers to jump back in. Long-term there remains little bearish news to get excited about.

Darin Newsom can be reached at darin.newsom@dtn.com

Follow Darin Newsom on Twitter @DarinNewsom

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