The month of May was one of the most volatile months of trading for the July Corn futures contract this year. In early April the USDA released a bullish supply and demand report which lifted Corn prices to their highest levels since 2008.

Prices started to test key technical supports around 7.30 a bushel early in May and were able to finally break through, sending traders holding long positions to liquidate which amplified the selloff. Sellers continued to pressure Corn down enabling them to print prices below the psychological floor of 7.00 a bushel. At these prices Corn looked cheap for China, as rumors started to circulate that they were showing interest to increase demand for the yellow crop. Buyers stepped back in lifting prices higher on heavy volume for nearly two weeks between May 11 – 23. This price action put Corn back at the highest levels once again for the year. Corn traded in a monthly range of $1.15 from the lows of 6.59 up to 7.75 a bushel.

Soybean futures also experienced gyration as they started the month off at 14.00 a bushel and traded as low as 13.10 a bushel. Soybean prices rallied higher on spillover buying from the Corn pits backed on the China rumor. The Soybean rally was not enough to put prices back above monthly highs but they were able to settle at the higher prices of their monthly range.

Wheat futures had similar price action as Corn has during the month of May. Wheat kept trading on both sides of their major price hurdle of 8.00 a bushel throughout the month. During the first week of trading, harsh weather was reported for Wheat which kept prices higher, consolidating around 8.00 for a couple days. During an overnight trading session, Russia announced that they were lifting their export ban on Wheat which was imposed last summer. This broke prices on heavy volume for nearly a week. Wheat futures hit a low of 7.23 for the month but rallied nearly $1.00 backed off by the China purchasing Corn rumor. Wheat prices stayed higher for the remainder of the month to settle the month of May above 8.00.

As the summer months are here, traders should pay close attention to weather patterns as they will affect prices on a daily basis in the grain complex.

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