When Will It End?
Crude Oil – Like a broken record that keeps repeating, Crude Oil futures surged to another record high. Prices have now surpassed the $143 level, with traders considering possible supply disruptions from Iran amid continued frustration over the country's nuclear ambitions. Persistent militant attacks on the oil infrastructure in Nigeria and a weak U.S. Dollar have also contributed to higher Oil prices. Active trade in Oil futures is expected today as large traders square their books ahead of the close of the second quarter. August Crude broke out of its nearly 3-week consolidation pattern on Friday, which may have helped spur further technical buying this morning. The next major resistance level is seen at $144.00 and again at $145.00. The first line of support is found at $140.40, with additional support seen at Friday’s lows of $138.60.
Corn – Grain bulls might be “corncerned” about their positions after the USDA raised its estimates of planted Corn acreage this morning. The USDA estimated U.S. Corn plantings at 87.327 million acres – well above the pre-report estimates of something closer to 85.35 million acres, as well as the March estimate of 86.014 million acres. Also deemed “bearish” by traders was the Corn stocks figure, with the USDA estimating Corn stocks as of June 1st at 4.028 billion bushels, up nearly 0.500 billion bushels from this time last year. New-crop December Corn just missed reaching the $8 per bushel level on Friday, and today’s seemingly bearish report looks to cement this area as a level of strong resistance. Support is seen at the recent lows made on June 23rd at $7.38.
Mike Zarembski, Senior Commodity Analyst
