DTN Closing Grain Comments

General Comments:

Corn closed up 2 cents in the May contract and up 2 cents in the December. Soybeans closed up 7 3/4 cents in the May and up 6 1/4 cents in the November. Wheat closed down 3 1/2 cents in the May Chicago, down 2 3/4 cents in the May Kansas City, and up 1 1/2 cents in the May Minneapolis. The June U.S. dollar index is down 0.27 at 100.44. June gold is up $11.20 at $1,289.30 while May silver is up $0.23 and May copper is up $0.0215. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 95 at 20,498. May crude oil is down $0.12 at $52.99. May heating oil is down $0.0063, May RBOB gasoline is down $0.0178, and May natural gas is up $0.020.

For the week:

May corn closed up 11 1/2 cents and December closed up 10 cents. May soybeans were up 13 1/2 cents while the November was up 12 1/4 cents. May Chicago wheat was up 5 3/4 cents, May Kansas City wheat was up 5 1/2 cents, and May Minneapolis wheat was up 12 cents.

Corn:

May corn closed up 2 cents Thursday, helped by a fourth consecutive day of commercial buying which took prices to their highest close in five weeks. It is still early in the planting season, but many areas (especially in the eastern Midwest) have been seen rain with plenty more expected the next seven days across much of the Midwest and central Plains. Coming after USDA's 90 million acre planting estimate on March 31, the new wet planting concerns have given corn prices a modest lift and kept the sideways trend supported. Early Thursday, USDA said last week's export sales and shipments of corn totaled 29.1 million and 42.4 million bushels, respectively. These were neutral numbers, which were both down from the previous week. The anticipation of record corn crops in South America remains a bearish concern, but so far May corn is holding sideways. DTN's National Corn Index closed at $3.33 Wednesday, priced 36 cents below the May contract and up from its lowest price in 2017. In outside markets, the June U.S. dollar index is down 0.27, which is a bit confusing because it includes the price drop that took place on Wednesday afternoon after President Donald Trump repeated his support for a weaker dollar. The U.S. dollar index is up 0.31 in Thursday's action alone.

Soybeans:

May soybeans closed up 7 3/4 cents Thursday, encouraged again by commercial buying in soybean meal, likely related to concerns about flooding in Argentina. Late Wednesday, the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange said over 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) were affected by too much rain, but also maintained its soybean production estimate of 56.5 million metric tons. On the demand side, soybeans heard bullish news from Dow Jones late Wednesday, reporting that China's soybean imports were up 20% in the first three months of 2017 from a year ago -- a strong early pace. Early Thursday, USDA said last week's export sales and shipments of soybeans totaled 17.7 million and 27.7 million bushels, respectively, a bullish combination that brings the new total for 2016-17 to 2.039 billion bushels, more than USDA's export estimate of 2.025 billion bushels with over four months still left in the season. In spite of this week's price rebound, the fundamental outlook for soybeans remains bearish and May soybeans remain in a downtrend. DTN's National Soybean Index closed at $8.74 Wednesday, priced 74 cents below the May contract and up from its lowest prices in a year.

Wheat:

May Chicago wheat closed down 3 1/2 cents Thursday, attracting modest commercial selling after prices hit their highest peak in three weeks on Wednesday. While this year's winter wheat crop started out dry, recent rains have helped. Additional rains are expected in the next seven days for all but the westernmost edge of the southwestern Plains. USDA said last week's export sales and shipments of wheat totaled 15.5 million and 23.3 million bushels, respectively, a neutral showing that has total shipments up 32% from a year ago -- the same pace USDA is estimating for all of 2016-17. There are no significant problems reported outside the U.S. yet, but wet conditions in Manitoba and dry conditions in western Europe will top this year's list of possible items to watch. With world wheat supplies currently plentiful, May Chicago wheat continues to trend sideways with support at the March low of $4.16 1/2. DTN's National SRW index closed at $3.93 Wednesday, priced 41 cents below the May contract and up from its lowest price in three months. DTN's National HRW index closed at $3.40 and up from its lowest price in three months. U.S. grain futures will trade again at 7 p.m. CDT on Sunday, April 16.

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

Follow Todd Hultman on Twitter @ToddHultman1

(CZ)

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