Markets Higher Friday

Corn held Friday and managed to close out the week with 1-2 cent gains. For the week corn was unchanged. It was a bit of a moral victory as corn was right at key support at the bottom of the trading range it has been in since January. Are the lows in? I am not sure that is the case as the basic fundamental picture is still bearish. Corn does have a seasonal tendency to rally into spring as the market tries to buy corn acres. Hopefully we see that again this year. However there is also a seasonal tendency to see a post-harvest rally and that did not happen this year either!

Beans were the strength of the grains Friday as beans closed 12-14 cents higher. News out of South America sparked some short covering and it was not about how big their bean crop is. The political climate in Brazil is in turmoil with their past and current president being investigated for corruption. That sent the Brazilian real sharply higher, which makes beans from the United States more competitive. Even before this move the International Grains Council reported that the U.S. export price for beans at the port was at $333 a compared to $327 a ton from Brazil. When you consider all the added costs of doing business with Brazil it sure looks like U.S. beans are competitive.