Mark's Market Talk for March 25, 2024

We sort of had the good, the bad, and the ugly this past week in the grain markets. Corn made small moves all week and ended 2 cents higher. Meanwhile beans had big swings both ways and ended the week 6 cents lower. Corn had some decent export sales that helped push things along. The funds have bought back about 100,000 contracts so we are well off the record shorts they had earlier. It might appear the traders are a little unsure of things right now. We have the acreage report out this Thursday and normally it is one of the most volatile reports of the year. Analysts are on both sides of the corn acres. Last year we planted 94.6 million acres, estimates for this year run from 91 to 95 with the average in the 92.5 area. Last year we planted 83 million acres of beans and current estimates put this year’s acreage somewhere between 85 and 86.5 million acres. It is easy to see that we could see some swing acres take place. There will also be a stocks report Thursday and though the acre report is taking the headlines, a wild stocks report could sneak up on us. Friday is Good Friday, and the markets will be closed. Will this make a difference in how far traders want to extend themselves and then wait until Monday to see the results in a clearer eye? We will not know until the time comes.