DTN Closing Grain Comments    09/03 13:51
   Weather Bulls Help Row Crops Fight Off the Lows Again

   For the second day in a row, crop futures fought off a bout of overnight
bearishness to reverse well off of daily lows by the close. Soybeans led the
way, with traders penciling in lighter yields as the end stages of growing
season weather have been less than ideal for pod filling in many areas. Wheat
fell hard on comments from Russia's President Putin expressing some optimism
for an eventual peace in the Black Sea, though the markets recovery from lows
suggests traders remain unconvinced. Meanwhile, energy markets floated on
Thursday, with crude prices facing chart resistance near three-month highs as
the war in the Middle East has escalated once again this week with a series of
attacks. Equities were firm along with treasuries after Fed Governor Waller
said that he would favor holding rates steady if August inflation data supports
this. In that sense, the August Consumer Price Index report is out next Friday,
but the preferred gauge (the PCE Index) won't be published until Sept. 30,
after the next Federal Reserve meeting.

Rhett Montgomery
DTN Lead Analyst

GENERAL COMMENTS:

   December corn closed down 2 3/4 cents and March corn was down 2 1/4 cents.
November soybeans closed up 6 cents and January soybeans were up 6 1/2 cents.
December KC wheat closed down 18 3/4 cents, December Chicago wheat was down 19
3/4 cents, December MIAX Minneapolis wheat was down 16 1/2 cents.