Corn Commentary
Sept Corn closes 2 ¾ cents lower ($3.52 ½), Dec 2 cents lower ($3.66 ½) and March 2 cents lower ($3.78 ¼)
Sept Chgo Ethanol closes 0.020 cents a gallon lower ($1.531), Oct 0.020 cents lower ($1.508)
Weekly Ethanol Grind – 1.059 million bpd vs. 1.012 last week – Stocks – 21.8 million bbls vs. 21.3 last week
Weekly Corn Export Sales – old crop vs. 0-200 K T. expected – new crop vs. 400-700 K T. expected
The move lower in flat price corn continues; Wednesday’s lower move came in a grinding type fashion. Sharply lower wheat prices as well as the idea that the bleeding has stopped in the corn crop’s development continues to weigh on prices. Argentina’s announcement that its corn acres will expand this coming season added to the market’s pessimism. Next week the Pro Farmer tour will start. Their tour will cover the states of Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Nebraska and S. Dakota; basically the heart of the Corn Belt. It will be interesting to see what they find vs. what the USDA had to say last week. The last couple of years had them coming in less than what the USDA alluded to on both the August and September crop production reports.
Interior cash corn markets continue to show a firming bias. I’m not sure this is in response to better demand; it’s my thought it’s all about nonexistent movement. Corn spreads continue to show a widening bias.
Flat price corn remains in line to challenge last September’s lows. The Sept contract came within 1 cent of those lows today while the Dec contract came within 5 cents of those lows. I’m thinking the old lows will hold for the near term but I’m not expecting to see that much upside retracement.
Daily Support & Resistance for 08/17
Sept Corn: $3.48 – $3.58
Dec Corn: $3.62 – $3.72
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