Corn and Beans Hold Last Week

Corn closed Friday 1-1/2 to 2-1/4 cents higher. For the week, March corn saw gains of 3-1/4 cents. In addition, corn posted a hook reversal, which is a very friendly formation on the charts. It was a major moral victory for corn as the funds were major sellers last week. It was interesting that China bought a lot of corn from the United States last week, Remember, according to the USDA China is sitting on huge corn stocks. Bearish corn traders downplayed the news saying that China needed good corn to blend with their corn that was poor quality. Wouldn't that be friendly for corn demand too?

May beans closed Friday 1-1/2 cents lower and lost 6-1/2 cents on the week. It was a fairly quiet day in beans Friday and most of last week. Most contracts had a range Friday of 10 cents or less. The Commitment of Traders report showed it was the fourth week in a row the funds decreased their long positions. Last week it was decreased by 29,284 contracts. Traders believe it is just a matter of time before beans move lower because harvest continues to move along in South America. However, the weather has been a little less than ideal and on March 31 we get one of the biggest reports of the year from then USDA. The stocks and acres report has resulted in big market moves in eight of the past 10 years.