Markets Start Week Quiet

After all the fireworks with the USDA acres and stocks report last week, the grain markets started this week quietly. Corn closed Monday about unchanged. The Dollar Index was slightly lower and that was a bit supportive. Export Loadings were good at 41.5 million bushels. Year to date Export Loadings are 16 percent behind last year but only 5 percent behind the pace needed to hit the USDA export forecast for this marketing year. Traders are starting to pay attention to the cold weather in the Midwest and really wet conditions in the South that are delaying corn planting.

Beans were fairly quiet too Monday, but did close 3-4 cents lower. There may have been a little profit taking as beans have rallied about 68 cents recently. Beans did post a hook reversal lower. That means beans traded above Friday's high and closed below Friday's low. That is not the most friendly sign on the charts. Export Loadings were not great at 7.5 million bushels. Last year for the same week Export Loadings were much higher at 21 million bushels. Export Loadings are 7 percent behind last year's pace. The USDA has projected we will be 8 percent lower so we are actually ahead of the USDA projection.