In the overnight session the grains traded mostly higher with December corn up 1 cent, January soybeans up 2 ½ cents and March Chicago wheat up 4 ½ cents. Wheat is now on its 4th day rebounding from lows printed on December 12th. Overhead resistance is around $4.24 ¼ which was a previous low in the downtrend in wheat that resumed in September.
Exporters sell 396,000 metric tons of soybeans for delivery to China during the 2017/2018 marketing year. Exporters sell 168,000 metric tons of grain sorghum for delivery to China during the 2017/2018 marketing year. - USDA
Argentina received rain over the weekend with around 1-2.4 inches from central Santa Fe and Southwestern Entre Rios to eastern Buenos Aires and southeastern Uruguay. Temperatures are expected to be seasonable this week with next week temperatures warming slightly. Precipitation is expected again this week, primarily Friday and Saturday and should provide .75 to 2 inches in the central corn and soybean producing regions.
Meteorologists are calling for colder temperatures in the last week of December throughout the southern plains. Early models suggesting temperatures could fall below zero Fahrenheit. HRW wheat will be vulnerable to freeze damage after this years planting season was delayed by heavy rain in October followed by persistent dryness. According to the drought monitor, the entire state of Kansas is abundantly dry and 1/5th of the state is in Moderate drought.
Last week the average corn basis in the US increased by two cents for corn and 1 cent for soybeans. Ethanol basis was mixed across the country with double digit gains in MN and SD while basis was weaker in IL and IN. Soybean plants were mostly steady throughout last week, but the Gulf did increase 5 cents which helped river basis for soybeans. Basis at the Gulf declined 5 cents for corn last week.
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