Market Report: Corn Firmer, Beans Lower

Corn did manage to close slightly higher, posting a gain of around a penny. It was a little disappointing because corn was trading higher earlier in the day. On the positive side, it was the third day in a row corn did close higher. Probably some short covering on thoughts the losses last week were overdone, plus we have a USDA Supply Demand Report on Friday morning. The Dollar Index was a little higher and the crop condition report for corn was unchanged when most expected a decline in the good to excellent category.

Beans had a disappointing close, with losses of 5-8 cents. The slightly higher Dollar Index pressured beans, plus the bean crop in the good to excellent category was unchanged when most expected a decline. I read on Pro Farmer that the basis for beans is widening in parts of the Midwest as harvest approaches. Traders are expecting a decline in yields and acres in Fridays USDA report. Don't hold your breath. Almost everyone expected that in the August report and the USDA actually increased yields and total production.