Grain prices are higher in overnight trading:

Corn + 4 ¾ cents/bu (Dec @ 4.27 ¼ )

Soybeans + 17  cents/bu (Jan @ 11.94 ½ )

Chi Wheat + 5 cents/bu (Dec @ 5.96 ¾ )

Cdn $ +0.00070 (76.62 cents)

WTI Crude Oil +0.26/barrel (42.00)

Grains have shaken off yesterday’s weakness to post solid overnight gains.  With speculators long all grain futures, and enough fundamental reasons for strength (shrinking USA stocks, ongoing dryness in South America, and insatiable Chinese demand), it would appear that the path of least resistance is higher.  With January soybeans again posting new all time highs, funds clearly have the 12.00/bu mark as a short term target.

Brazilian weather forecasts are a little drier this morning, which will only embolden market bulls.  The reality is that we are weeks, if not months away from actually knowing with any certainty about the size of the South American crop.  Argentina was dry yesterday, but rain chances for next week look to give farmers there a bit of a reprieve from their extreme dryness.

As I will be out of the office, there will be no midday market commentary today.  Closing Market Commentary will be issued early Saturday morning.