Setup In Corn
Corn futures leaped to a three-week high today at
the Chicago Board of Trade. Stuck in a bear market for much of this year, March
corn
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morning, corn for March delivery rallied out of the gate and closed at 208.75 a
bushel, up 3.00. Market watchers credited the rally to anticipation of strong
weekly export sales in this Thursday’s government report, along with continued
dry conditions in Argentina.
Overly dry weather in Argentina also helped March
soybeans [SH2|SH2] climb higher. There are only five more weeks until
the soybean harvest in Buenos Aires. March soybeans rose 3.25 cents to $4.39 a
half bushel. March soybean meal
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Wheat saw a modest increase thanks in part to the rallies in corn and soybeans. March
wheat
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couple of sessions. Today wheat had a strong day to pull higher by 1.59 to
282.25.
March crude oil
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gained .45 cents to trade at $21.18 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange. March unleaded gasoline
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60.90 cents; March heating oil futures
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trade at 55.40 cents a gallon.
April gold
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from a $296 low to trade at $299.80 a troy ounce, $1.50 lower than Tuesday. The
$300 level was in jeopardy most of the trading session. March silver
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continued its second consecutive rally day, closing above its 4.48 resistance
line. The contract ended higher at 4.50, up 1.50. March copper
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higher above its 74 resistance level to close near its highs. Copper ended at
75.10 up 1.85.
U.S. retail sales, excluding auto dealers, rose
more in January than any other month in two years, as consumers bought building
materials, furniture, clothing, and items from discounters such as Wal-Mart
Stores
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since the government began keeping comparable records in 1992. This surprise
good news provided fuel that helped markets open higher and stay positive
throughout the day. The March S&P 500 futures
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at 1118.70 above its R2 Pivot Point. March Dow futures
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rallied out of the gate and closed at 9990 well above the R2 Pivot point. And March
Nasdaq 100 futures
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pivot point.