In the overnight session the grains were mixed with March corn down ¾ of a cent, January soybeans up 3 ½ cents and March wheat down ¼ penny. Wheat has closed lower over the last two trade sessions, but price declines have been limited due to the frigid temperatures expected throughout the plains in the coming week. The weather throughout the Hard Red Winter Wheat region is supposed to turn cold into January 2nd which could damage dormant winter crop unprotected by a sufficient blanket of snow such as the Northern Texas Panhandle and parts of Oklahoma.
Exporters Sell 110,000 metric tons of Soybeans for delivery to China during the 2017/2018 marketing year. -USDA
Precipitation throughout Argentina is expected over the weekend starting in the south and moving to the north. Traders have remained concerned about the crop due to the hot temperatures this week and the because this weeks precipitation has been mostly isolated. It will be important for rain to materialize this weekend because on Monday weather is expected to turn dry again with the next chance at rain being on the 5th and 6th of January. If the forecast precipitation is not received this weekend in Argentina there is fear that some farmers may experience even further planting delays. In the most recent report from the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange, Argentina is 70.9 percent planted for soybeans and 61.2 percent planted for corn.
The short covering rally in soybeans yesterday will likely run into resistance at the $9.63 ¼ price level and again at $9.70. Both price levels were previous areas of support that have been violated and could add additional selling pressure.
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