3/12/2024

A very positive day in the grain markets. Corn was trading 4 cents higher when it met the the expected selling at the 50-day moving average but still managed to finish unchanged on the day. Soybeans were strong for most of the day and traded up to 17 cents higher at one point. It was a bit of an up-and-down ride throughout the session but beans held on for healthy gains of 12-14 cents. Today's trade was highlighted by a fresh report from Brazil's CONAB which has been steadily shrinking their Brazil crop production forecast over the past few months. CONAB is now showing 146.9 mmt of soybeans produced versus the USDA's 155.0 mmt (-8.1, about 297 million bushels). CONAB's Brazil corn crop is forecasted at 112.7 mmt versus the USDA's 124.0 (-11.3, about 444 million bushels). Corn has now rallied as much as 37 cents and soybeans have bounced as much as 68 cents off of what is expected to some major lows on the charts. This all can change fast. Seasonal trends are expected to be a big player in this year's market and we need to have sell orders working.