Markets are trading higher across the board this morning with beans catching a bid on more dryness in Argentina with all three markets recovering a portion of Friday’s large losses that came after poor weekly export sales.

The weekly CFTC report is delayed until this afternoon, so this morning’s numbers are still trade estimates.

Managed funds on Friday were estimated as net sellers of 15k corn to reduce the net long to 163k, net sellers of 12k beans to push the net short out to 56k, and net sellers of 7k wheat to push the net short out to 96k.

Indian wheat prices hit record highs this morning as their govt. reserves dwindle and flour mills struggle to secure enough grain to operate at full capacity. The state-run Food Corp. of India is selling 100 tmt of reserves weekly, but that has not been enough to meet demand.

The Buenos Aires grains exchange said dry weather was starting to stress crops. They estimated corn planting at 87% complete and bean planting 93%. 81% of growing areas have adequate to optimal moisture levels, which was down 7% on the week.

USDA will be out on Friday with their January supply and demand estimates. This report will estimate final U.S. corn/bean production.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization said their food price index in December fell from the month of November but was still up 6.7% from the prior year.

Kazakhstan reported grain exports this marketing year at 3.7 mmt, which is up 54% from the same period a year ago.

Corn posted large losses on Friday with prices matching Thursday’s high and then dropping to new lows for the week. The market is starting to correct from overbought, but there is risk of a larger correction. Support is 4.40 and resistance 4.60.

Beans posted a lower low, lower high, and sharply lower close on Friday with the market dropping back within its recent range. The market is correcting from overbought with directional indicators neutral. Support for March is 10.00 and 9.80 with resistance at 10.10-10.20.

Corn is recovering a large portion of Friday’s losses, which seemed to be sparked by a disappointing export sales report. Weather in Argentina is supportive this morning, which along with overall strong demand, is driving fund buying. With that said, U.S. and global supplies are expected to be sufficient to meet that demand and a lot of corn is expected to move off farm now that we are in the month of January. With the market trading in the 4.50-4.60 resistance area, producers should make sure sales are caught up and look at zero-cost option structures to protect unsold bushels.

Beans traded sharply lower on Friday following disappointing export data but are recovering most of those losses this morning as the Argentine forecast is showing more dryness for at least the next 10 days. With that said, total South American production is still on track to be record large, driven by a record crop in Brazil, and managed funds have covered most of their net short position despite the forecast for excessive global supplies. Producers should use puts to cover their downside risk on unsold bushels.

Corn up 5-7

Beans up 12-18