Market Report: Corn Lower, Beans Firmer

Corn closed down 5-7 cents today. It was the fifth day lower of the past six days. The Dollar Index was higher and now has gained back half of what it lost since February. Remember, a stronger dollar makes our grain more expensive for countries like China that want to buy it. However, grain prices have dropped far more than the impact of the stronger dollar. With 92 percent of the corn crop planted and 74 percent rated good to excellent, traders are confidant the corn crop is off to a good start.

Beans closed up 2-4 cents today. I read the commercials were buying mean today and that supported beans. With mean setting new contract lows they apparently thought it was time to buy meal and lock in the cheap price. Beans have lost about 60 cents a bushel since late April. There may have been some traders thinking beans have fallen too far, too fast for this point in the growing season. The bean crop is not in the bin yet and there is a lot of growing season ahead.