DTN Early Word Grains         12/13 05:59
   Grains Rally as Trade Truce Nears

   March corn is up 5 cents per bushel, January soybeans are up 12 1/2 cents,
and March KC wheat is up 5 cents.

By Tregg Cronin
DTN Contributing Analyst

6:00 a.m. CME Globex:   March corn is up 5 cents per bushel, January soybeans
are up 12 1/2 cents, and March KC wheat is up 5 cents.

CME Globex Recap:   Solid gains in equity markets around the globe overnight as
the U.S. and China appear closer to at least a partial trade deal than at any
other time in the last 18-months. Details began emerging Thursday afternoon
that President Trump had signed off on a partial deal, although traders remain
a bit nervous considering no official statement has been made by either
Washington or Beijing. China has been especially quiet, neither confirming nor
denying anything, although as long as additional tariffs are not enacted Sunday
morning, it can viewed as a victory. Also noteworthy was the Tory victory in
the U.K. election which helped propel the British Pound over 2.0% higher Friday
morning. The sterling strength helped push the U.S. Dollar Index to multi-month
lows, supporting commodity futures. Ag markets are sharply higher overnight in
a relief rally after months of tenuous negotiations. The response has been
solid in corn and soybeans, although how far prices are prepared to go before
some tonnage is announced remains to be seen. If China commits to sizable
purchases, it places even more focus on South American weather which still has
a long way to go before boats can be loaded.

OUTSIDE MARKETS:   Previous closes on Thursday showed the Dow Jones Industrial
Average up 220.75 at 28,132.05 and the S&P 500 up 26.94 at 3,141.63 while the
10-Year Treasury yield ended at 1.897%. Early Friday, the December DJIA futures
are up 129 points. Asian markets are higher with Japan's Nikkei 225 up 598.29
(2.55%) and China's Shanghai Composite up 51.98 points (1.78%). European
markets are higher with London's FTSE 100 up 135.86 points (1.85%), Germany's
DAX up 164.39 points (1.24%) and France's CAC 40 up 71.06 points (1.21%). The
December Euro is up 0.007 at 1.120 and the December U.S. dollar index is down
0.589 at 96.795. The March 30-Year T-Bond is down 1/32nds, while February gold
is up $3.70 at $1,476.00 and January crude oil is up $0.78 at $59.96. Soybeans
on China's Dalian Exchange were up 0.21% while soybean meal was down 1.21%.