03/15/23 Grains Stabilize, but Still in Limbo as Uncertainty Abounds

On the Grains: Grains are firm in overnight trade as fund long liquidation finally subsides a bit in corn and beans while short-covering in wheat continues. Crude oil is soft and still below the $72/barrel threshold where President Biden said last October the U.S. would begin to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Not a peep about that lately, but it does act as a potential “floor” at this level. The Dow is down hard again as this goes to press. Uncertainty in the wake of the unfolding banking crisis; what the Fed will do on interest rates and what Congress will do on banking regulations still abounds.   Funds had actually doubled-down on their short bets against Chicago wheat and found themselves still short nearly 100,000 contracts with crop condition ratings actually worsening for HRW country and heavy snowpack up north threatening fieldwork prep for spring wheat. As a result we saw double-digit gains in wheat actually leading the way higher for a change instead of a dragging corn back like a ball-and-chain.   Yesterday’s highlight for corn was the 675,000 old-crop sale to China. It finally confirmed rumors we’d been hearing for weeks that China was going to take…