Market Report: Another Day It Could Have Been Worse

Corn was down 3-5 cents a bushel this morning, but by the close corn clawed back to close only about a penny lower. The dollar index rebounded after yesterday's drop, and that seemed to pressure all the grains. Export sales for corn were described as "disappointing" and below trade guesses at 22 million bushels. However, it was above the weekly pace needed to reach the USDA's projections for the marketing year.

Soybeans closed 3-4 cents lower, but at one point this morning soybeans were about 10 cents lower. Export sales for soybeans came in at 346,000 MT. The soybean close today was disappointing for the bulls, technically though we are still range bound. Gordy with Slipka Trading has said many times this month that the fund traders are short corn and beans and long the dollar index. March 31 is not only the end of the month but also the end of the quarter. They will get big performance incentives if they can keep the dollar index high and corn and soybean prices lower for a few more days. They have huge amounts of other people's money to play with. Do they have enough to defend their positions until the end of March? We will find out very soon!