Grain Markets Gain to Start the Week
Grain markets are firm to start a new week of trade, with several contracts knocking on the door of a potential breakout move. These are the levels to keep an eye on for corn, soybeans, and wheat.
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May grain options expire at the end of the week, which has started to move the bulk of futures trade volume out to July. If you’re in May futures, you’ll want to consider exiting or rolling before the end of the week.
Corn
Thursday’s Recap
Corn futures were lower Thursday with the July contract finishing the session at 490’2, off by 1’4, in a quiet session. Across all maturities, 336,554 contracts were traded, with 115,218 done in the July maturity. Combined open interest added 8,749, or 0.51%, with July adding 9,555 (1.47%) to 660,700.
Technicals
July corn futures are higher to start the week but are below the highs from the end of last week. Those highs will act as first resistance this week, coming in from 495-497 1/2. Last week’s trade looks like it has the potential to be a “Bull Flag”, a breakout and close above first resistance would confirm that setup and open the door for a move back above $5 with a retest of the year’s high not out of the question. On the flipside, a break and close below support from 483 3/4-488 1/2 would neutralize that setup and could lead to a further retracement from the impressive rally from the start of the month. Our trade desk remains pretty upbeat on old crop corn.
Technical Levels of Importance
Resistance: 495-497 1/2***, 504 1/2**, 510-512***
Pivot: 483 3/4-488 1/2
Support: 474 3/4-477***, 454 1/2-457 3/4***
Popular Options
Option volumes were greatest for the July 510 call (4,062) and the May 480 put (4,206). Options with the largest open interest are the July 500 call with 39,726, and the Dec 400 put with 23,564.
Volatility Update
As measured by CVL, implied volatility closed the session down, dropping 0.39 to settle at a one week low of 20.75. Historical volatility (30-day) closed the session at 16.90%, losing 0.20%, to a one month low. The CVL Skew finished the session sharply down, off by 0.34 to settle at a one week low of 0.44.
Seasonal Tendencies Update
(Updated on 4.21.25)
Below is a look at historical price averages for July 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 Update
Friday’s Commitment of Traders report showed Funds were net buyers of about 71k futures and options contracts through April 15th, expanding their net long position to 124,573.
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