A Traders Paradise
Grain markets have seen a choppy trade which has presented some great opportunities for shorter term traders. These are the levels we are watching into the weekend.
Corn
Thursday’s Recap
Thursday’s Corn market was higher with the May contract higher by 0’4 to 512’6. Overall the session saw 458,104 contracts done, with May volume coming in at 167,194. Combined open interest lost 2,395 (0.12%), with May up by 15,415, or 1.96%, to 803,276.
Technicals
With today being March options expiration, we are shifting the focus to the May contract. As mentioned in our media interviews yesterday, the upward momentum has been slowing over the last 3-sessions with failures and small reversals from 517. That’s not to say the top is in, but a pause and correction could be around the corner and likely even welcomed and viewed as healthy. Trendline support from the middle of December along with the 20-day moving average look to offer solid support on the first test, that comes in near 503 with psychological support just below that near 500. Consecutive closes back below those levels and that’s when you could start to see the tide turn a little more. Until then, the trend is still higher lows and higher highs.
Technical Levels of Importance
Resistance: 517-520****, 531**
Pivot: 503-505
Support: 495-499 1/2****, 481 1/2-484***
Popular Options
Option volumes were largest for the March 500 call (7,195) and the March 490 put (4,846). Options with the greatest open interest are the July 500 call with 41,650, and the March 440 put with 19,732.
Volatility Update
Implied Volatility closed the session moderately lower with CVL dropping 0.7, to finish at a one week low of 20.01. Historical volatility (30-day) closed at 21.40%, lower by 0.32%, to a one week low. The CVL Skew ended the day sharply up, higher by 0.31 to finish the session at 1.25.
Seasonal Tendencies Update(Updated on 2.18.25) Below is a look at historical price averages for May corn futures on a 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 year time frames (Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results). |
Commitment of Traders UpdateFriday’s Commitment of Traders report showed Funds were net sellers of about 29k futures contracts, nearly all of which was long liquidation. This trims their net long position to 332,389. |
Oliver Sloup was on RFD-TV Thursday afternoon, sharing his thoughts on the recent price action and technical levels for grain and livestock markets.
Ready to dig in?
Subscribe to our daily Grain Express for fresh insights into Soybeans, Wheat, and Corn. Get our expert technical analysis, proprietary trading levels, and actionable market bias delivered right to your inbox.