What’s Up, What’s Down: Spotlight on Grains
Comments for October 31, 2011
Looking ahead to Monday by reflecting back on Friday’s trading
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TECHNICALLY AND FUNDAMENTALLY, CORN FUTURES RAISES QUESTIONS
GRAINS: 10/31/11 EXPORT INSPECTIONS. CROP PROGRESS. Higher for Chicago wheat, oats and corn, unchanged for Kansas City wheat while lower for rough rice, soybeans, soymeal, soyoil and Minneapolis wheat. Although KC and Chicago wheat remain in down-trends overall even after retracing higher lately, Minneapolis is the only grain, in my opinion, still in a good up-trend at this time. Minneapolis bounced off its resistance(920 to 940) making its best high in thirteen sessions before closing lower in reversal type action. Corn had its best close also in thirteen sessions but hasn’t taken out its last of a week ago continuing to act heavy overall with good selling on all of its rallies over 650(Dec.) so far. What kind of confuses the issue is its gap that goes from 682 to 685 1/4. Also, there is also strong resistance all the way up to around the seven dollar area basis that could make this a struggle to fill this gap. On the other hand If you’ve been reading my comments for a while you know how I feel about grain gaps especially in the corn. I expect corn to stall out anywhere up to filling the above mentioned gap. The Russian and Chinese news a few of weeks ago along with a weak dollar at this time seems to have helped stabilize corn and to a lesser extent the bean complex. Finally, corn’s struggle to fill its gap, after talking to many of my clients, seems be caused by the selling of corn that the farmers have been holding. Now, I feel that once this selling dries up corn could have its belated rally. Of course there’s no guarantee that gap will ever be filled no matter what I say or feel. Rice has good resistance from 1720 to 1780 basis the January contract along with more over 180. So far rice hasn’t been able to completely penetrate this resistance leading to lower highs over its last three sessions. The 1650(Jan.) area is critical for me hold at this time. Oats settled higher but has been making lower highs and lows since the beginning of September never able to close over 350(Dec.) looking lower overall.The bean complex also settled down and , although the beans, meal and oil have been consolidating over the last couple of weeks or so, a breakout to the downside looks more than likely at this time. All three have been in down-trends since the beginning of September and I just flat out blew sell signals for this complex. BUY SIGNAL FOR MINNEAPOLIS WHEAT AND ROUGH RICE. SELL SIGNALS FOR OATS, CORN, KANSAS CITY WHEAT AND CHICAGO WHEAT. CALL FOR DETAILS!
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DETAILS
Rick Alexander has been a broker and analyst in the futures business for over thirty years. He is a Vice-President for Sales and Trading at the Zaner Group (www.zaner.com) a Chicago-based futures brokerage firm. Email Rick at ralexander@zaner.com or call toll-free (888) 281-4158.
Futures and options trading is speculative in nature and involves substantial risk of loss.