DTN Closing Grain Comments

General Comments:

Corn was up 4 3/4 cents in the March contract and up 4 1/4 cents in the December. Soybeans were up 6 3/4 cents in the March contract and up 2 1/2 cents in the November. Wheat closed up 8 1/4 cents in the March Chicago contract, up 3 3/4 cents in the March Kansas City, and up 1/4 cent in the March Minneapolis contract.

The March U.S. dollar index is up 0.41 at 100.27. April gold is up $3.30 at $1,235.40 while March silver is up 3 cents and March copper is down $0.0190. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 33 at 20,086. March crude oil is down $1.01 at $52.00. March heating oil is down $0.0182 while March RBOB gasoline is down $0.0325 and March natural gas is up $0.073.

Corn:

March corn closed up 4 3/4 cents Tuesday, still lingering near the upper end of its trading range with ongoing support from active corn demand. USDA helped the cause early Monday with news of a 5.0 million bushel (128,000 metric ton) sale to Japan for 2016-17. Here in the U.S., there was plenty of precipitation east of the Mississippi River Tuesday and snow in Minnesota, but the rest of the central Plains was mostly dry with snow expected in the western Plains Wednesday. Farther south, moderate rain amounts are expected in northeastern Brazil and northern Argentina this week, but no significant threats are seen to crop estimates, which remain generally bearish. March corn continues to trend gradually higher and is close to challenging the January high of $3.71. DTN's National Corn Index closed at $3.27 Monday, priced 36 cents below the March contract and near its highest price in seven months. In outside markets, the March U.S. dollar index is up 0.41 after the U.S. Census Bureau reported U.S. exports up $5.0 billion in December to $190.7 billion, more than was expected.

Soybeans:

March soybeans closed up 6 3/4 cents, getting a quick lift in the first hour of trading after 8:30 a.m., but not doing much after that. This week's forecast down south expects more rain in northern Argentina, but probably won't have much price impact. Dow Jones' survey of analysts expects a 2.7 million metric tons reduction for USDA's estimate of Argentina's soybean crop, but private estimates already suggest that increases in Brazil's soybean crop could make up for Argentina's losses. The big question mark for soybeans in 2016-17 continues to be on the demand side of the ledger and Thursday's report won't be able to shed much light on that. So far, March soybeans continue to trend gradually higher with prices staying near the middle of their two-month trading range while new-crop soybeans remain within a dime of their January high. DTN's National Soybean Index closed at $9.60 Monday, priced 76 cents below the March contract and down roughly 40 cents from its highest price in six months.

Wheat:

March Chicago wheat closed 8 1/4 cents higher, thanks to stubborn support from commercial buying -- a healthy recognition that wheat prices are still cheap. DTN's seven-day forecast shows chances for moderate showers in Texas early next week, but otherwise the southwestern Plains will remain mostly dry with temperatures reaching the 80s in western Kansas by Friday. On the other side of the globe, the wheat region around the Black Sea continues to experience sub-freezing temperatures, which could damage winter wheat where snow cover is light but is difficult to assess in early February. March Chicago wheat continues to trend gradually higher, helped by a decent recovery in cash prices to start the year. DTN's National SRW index closed at $3.85 Monday, priced 38 cents below the March contract and down from its highest price in six months. DTN's National HRW index closed at $3.43 and down from its highest price in seven months.

Todd Hultman can be reached at Todd.Hultman@dtn.com

Follow Todd Hultman on Twitter @ToddHultman1

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