Corn Commentary
March Corn closes ¼ cent higher ($3.61 ¾), July ½ cent higher ($3.77 ¾) and Dec unchanged ($3.93 ¼)
February Chgo CBOT Ethanol closes 0.036 cents a gallon higher ($1.426), March 0.032 cents higher ($1.434)
Weekly Corn Export Sales – 1.850 M T. old crop vs. 1.000-1.500 M T. expected – 31.0 K T. new crop vs. 0-200 K T. expected
FC Stone suggest the Brazilian corn crop is 87.1 M T. (23.9 + 63.2) vs. CONAB last month at 92.4 M T. (25.2 + 67.2) vs. USDA at 95.0 M T.
Flat price corn continues to consolidate just below recent highs. There was an attempt to sell-off when soybeans and soybean meal moved sharply lower at mid-morning but prices did not stay down very long. We saw excellent weekly export sales which furthers the idea the US is currently the corn market to the World. Private estimates are starting to come out as to the size of the Brazilian corn crop. A prominent international trading house is suggesting the Brazilian corn crop will be noticeably lower vs. earlier in the season ideas. If true it would noticeably reduce world stocks which in recent months had been viewed as burdensome. Speculative short covering continues to be the best buying while cash related offers are the best sellers.
With the exception of the Ohio River interior cash corn bids are running to steady to easier. The easier looking bids are all about recent cash movement in response to the higher futures’ prices. The Gulf eases oh so slightly. Corn spreads ran mixed; March loses fractionally to May and July while old crop gains fractionally on the new crop.
The recent attempt to retrace from Tuesday’s high does not look very convincing. The price action still suggests to me that the corn market wants to go higher.
Daily Support & Resistance for 02/02
March Corn: $3.59 – $3.65
July Corn: $3.75 – $3.81
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