Corn, soybeans finished slightly higher Friday

DES MOINES, Iowa -- On Friday, the CME Group's farm markets closed slightly higher.

At the close, the March corn futures finished 4½¢ higher at $3.83¼. May corn futures closed 4¢ higher at $3.88.

March soybean futures finished 1¢ higher at $8.82. May soybean futures settled ¼¢ higher at $8.95.

March wheat futures closed 2½¢ higher at $5.58¼.

March soymeal futures finished $1.10 per short ton higher at $289.30. March soy oil futures closed 0.27¢ cents lower at 30.97¢ per pound.

In the outside markets, the NYMEX crude oil market is $0.66 per barrel lower, the U.S. dollar is higher, and the Dow Jones Industrials are 273 points lower.

Jack Scoville, PRICE Futures Group, says that Friday's market was quiet, again, with no real trend showing.

"Corn looks good on the daily charts but beans and wheat still sideways. Overall, waiting for news from China and the U.S. and watching the harvest progress in Brazil, but really, not trading much seems to be the theme. So, it looks OK and the news will probably turn out OK, but no one knows and most are sidelined," Scoville says.

Al Kluis, Kluis Advisors, says the farm markets are seeing solid demand support.

"We are seeing good exports for corn and soybeans, and China announced it is going to roll back half of the additional tariffs it imposed in September on some U.S. goods. That gave the market a little support on Thursday. Without an increase in demand, traders are reluctant to allow grain prices to rally too much. We are well supported. A nice uptick in demand could get grains moving higher," Kluis stated in a daily note to customers.

Kluis added, "The corn and soybean markets are going to be stuck in a sideways trading range until we get some fresh news to trade on such as an increase in demand for our grains."

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Thursday's Grain Market Review

On Thursday, the CME Group's farm markets did not catch the attention of the strong weekly corn exports.

At the close, March corn futures finished 1½¢ lower at $3.79¼; May corn futures ended 2¢ lower at $3.84½.

March soybean futures settled 1¼¢ higher at $8.81¼; May soybean futures ended 1½¢ higher at $8.94½.

March wheat futures settled 5¾¢ lower at $5.56¼.

March soy meal futures finished 80¢ per short ton higher at $288.20. March soy oil futures closed 0.08¢ cents lower at 31.24¢ per pound.

In the outside markets, the NYMEX crude oil market is 10¢ per barrel higher, the U.S. dollar is higher, and the Dow Jones Industrials are 99 points higher.

Britt O'Connell, cash adviser for Commodity Risk Management Group, says the markets are fairly quiet and continue to trade sideways.

"Without much by way of positive news, both corn and beans have no reason to move out of their comfort zone. Corn basis continues to do the heavy lifting, as farmers remain reluctant sellers. Soybean basis has improved as futures have dropped. Shipments of soybeans were strong in January, with February expecting the same. This is a good thing – the Chinese purchases made last fall are not being cancelled. With a large, maybe record, South America crop looming, it may be hard to give the market reason to rise. Not much hitting the airwaves today," O'Connell says.

Al Kluis, Kluis Advisors, says the farm markets are caught in a sideways pattern.

"As we patiently await increased demand out of China, the market remains a bit vulnerable due to coronavirus. So far this week, pressure on the grain prices has been well supported. However, it feels we will be stuck in a sideways trading range until we see China increase its demand," Kluis stated in a daily note to customers.

Kluis added, "The corn and soybean markets have been finding support this week. Until the bull spreads start working, we will have a hard time rallying."

Separately, the USDA's Weekly Export Sales Report Thursday shows strong demand figures.

Corn: 33,000,000 metric tons (mt) vs. the trade's expectations of between 600,000 and 1.5 mmt

Soybeans: 707,800 mt vs. the trade's expectations of 400,000 and 875,000 mt

Wheat: 338,600 mt vs. the trade's expectations of between 300,000 and 725,000 mt

Soybean meal: 212,700 mt vs. the trade's expectations of 200,000 and 500,000 mt

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Wednesday's Grain Market Review

On Wednesday, the CME Group's farm markets weaken, remain mostly higher.

At the close, March corn futures finished 1¼¢ lower at $3.80; May corn futures ended 1½¢ lower at $3.86.

March soybean futures settled ½¢ higher at $8.80¼ after trading 5¢ higher earlier in the session.

May soybean futures closed ½¢ higher at $8.93½ after being 6¢ higher.

March wheat futures settled 4¾¢ higher at $5.62¼.

March soy meal futures closed $1.10 per short ton lower at $287.40. March soy oil futures ended 0.59¢ higher at 31.32¢ per pound.

In the outside markets, the NYMEX crude oil market is $1.47 per barrel higher, the U.S. dollar is higher, and the Dow Jones Industrials are 480 points higher.

Al Kluis, Kluis Advisors, says investors are influenced by the outside market volatility.

"Traders are hoping the outside markets are able to calm down and regain composure after the initial kneejerk reaction from the coronavirus wears off," Kluis stated in a daily note to customers.

Kluis added, "Technically, the soybean chart is trying to turn higher. The CBOT wheat chart held trendline support. Lastly, the corn chart tested support and rebounded. All of these charts lean in favor of the bulls."

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Tuesday's Grain Market Review

On Tuesday, the CME Group's farm markets closed off of their daily highs.

At the close, March corn futures finished 3¼¢ higher at $3.82; May corn futures ended 3¼¢ higher at $3.87¾.

March soybean futures closed 2½¢ higher at $8.79¼; May soybean futures finished 2¼¢ higher at $8.93.

March wheat futures closed 1¾¢ higher at $5.57¼.

March soy meal futures finished $1.30 per short ton lower at $288.50. March soy oil futures closed 0.44¢ higher at 30.73¢ per pound.

In the outside markets, the NYMEX crude oil market is 26¢ per barrel lower, the U.S. dollar is higher, and the Dow Jones Industrials are 466 points higher.

Jason Roose, U.S. Commodities, says the farm markets stay mixed.

"Turn-around Tuesday was welcome and well overdue in a corn and soybean market that was technically oversold. Plus, the weekly soybean inspections were strong, which gave the soybeans early support from yesterday. South America's weather is nonthreatening for harvest but behind last year's pace. Less uncertainty will be needed to attract new buyers," Roose says.

Al Kluis, Kluis Advisors, says investors are watching to see when the market reacts to a U.S.-China trade deal.

"When – and if – will China step in to buy bargain-basement pork and soybeans from the U.S.? Those sales should start to show up in the U.S. Export Sales Reports next week," Kluis stated in a daily note to customers.

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Monday's Grain Market Review

On Monday, the CME Group's farm markets end mostly higher.

At the close, March corn futures finished 2½¢ lower at $3.78¾; May corn futures settled 2¢ lower at $3.84¾.

March soybean futures ended 4¼¢ higher at $8.77;. May soybean futures settled 4¢ higher at $8.90¾.

March wheat futures finished 1¾¢ higher at $5.55½.

March soy meal futures closed $1.20 per short ton lower at $289.80. March soy oil futures settled 0.35¢ higher at 30.29¢ per pound.

In the outside markets, the NYMEX crude oil market is $1.43 per barrel lower, the U.S. dollar is higher, and the Dow Jones Industrials are 188 points higher.

Jack Scoville, PRICE Futures Group, says the funds are the main traders today and are buying soybeans while selling corn.

"We are still worried about the coronavirus outbreak in China, but the Chinese have said that they expect to be big buyers in world meat markets because of the virus and because they needed the meat anyway. They should be very active in U.S. pork markets and probably in the beef as well, although they might take chicken instead of some of either the pork or beef, due to price. Corn charts show next support near $2.75, basis March futures. So, we might get that low before all is said and done. Beans got targets of $8.61, basis March futures, but have already hit a bunch of them on the way down and might have done enough for now," Scoville says.

Al Kluis, Kluis Advisors, says investors continue to eye the end of the coronavirus outbreak.

"On Friday, the coronavirus scare tanked the energy and global stock markets. Corn closed 2¢ higher, soybean futures closed 4¢ lower, and wheat futures were 3¢ to 6¢ lower. The coronavirus scare has taken the Chinese stock market (which was closed last week) down over 7% so far today," Kluis stated in a daily note to customers.

Kluis added, "Will stability in the U.S. energy and stock markets help carve out a low in the grain markets?"

On Monday, private exporters reported to the USDA export sales of 130,000 metric tons of soybeans for delivery to Egypt during the 2019/2020 marketing year.

The marketing year for soybeans began September 1.