Friday Market Report: Corn Firmer, Beans Weaker

Corn traded lower most of the session Friday, but managed to rally late and close 1-2 cents higher. The Peoples Bank of China announced that they were dropping the lending rate to 4.35 percent from 4.6 percent. That pushed the dollar index higher, putting pressure on all the grains. It did help that the USDA announced a 5.1 million bushel corn sale to an unknown destination. There was some rain moving through the corn belt that might slow down harvest, but harvest has been moving along at a very rapid pace.

Beans closed 3-5 cents lower Friday. Beans too were pressured by the higher dollar index and also the November options expiration. There was a lot of open interest in the November options and there many times seems to be some "game playing" that goes during expiration. The USDA also announced that 7.6 million bushels of beans were sold to an unknown destination. It has been dry in Central Brazil, with temperatures over 100 degrees. It is forecast to cool off, but little rain is in the forecast. However, it is still very early in the growing season.