I don't know that it's a pattern, but it looks really difficult to trade. The high of the range was taken out, then the low, then a higher high again, followed by another lower low. (Edit: actually the 2nd low did not reach that far.) Maybe a "pinball pattern" would be a better explanation. I'm just beginning to learn about commodities.
I think the grains are WAY more sensitive to the fundamentals than technicals but there are some very knowledgeable ag traders here.
http://www.cornandsoybeandigest.com/planting/crunch-time-corn I found this article at corn and soybean digest. The author gives a rundown on the roller coaster weather conditions (temps, rainfall) and explains how that affects internode length, nitrogen uptake and why it's so hard to predict yield right now.
Corn silking Currently, 40% of the crop is in the silking stage, down 7% from the four-year average of 47%. Illinois is leading the Midwest with 63% of the crop in the silking stage (Iowa only has 37% silking, Minnesota 20%). Other top states include North Carolina (93%); Tennessee (90%); Missouri (81%); Kentucky (76%) and Texas (70%). Soybean blooming While corn is falling behind, the soybean crop seems to be moving right along in the maturity stages. The 18-state average shows 52% in the blooming stage, but that’s 4% off from a year ago. That’s up 1 point from the four-year average of 51%. Nebraska is leading the Midwest with 66% in bloom, followed by Illinois (56%), Iowa (54%) and Michigan (53%). Other Midwest states are below average including Indiana (50%); South Dakota (49%); Minnesota (48%); Missouri (44%); Ohio (40%); North Dakota (40%) and Wisconsin (36%). [Corn and soybean digest is a free, online magazine with a wealth of free info to get noobs like me started down the path of ag fundamentals.] Soybean pod setting This week’s report shows 16% of the soybeans planted are now setting pods. That’s up 3% from the four year average of 13%. In 2016, the report showed 16% was setting pods meaning the 2017 crop has caught up in maturity for this same week as last year. Illinois is leading the Midwest with 17% setting pods and Michigan with 16%. Some states remain the average. Those include Wisconsin with only 5%; Ohio with 9%; and Minnesota with 10% setting pods.
Managing Southern Rust of Corn Southern corn rust is a fungal disease that generally affects corn later in the season after silking. Weather conditions can significantly affect how southern rust develops and how far and quickly the disease spreads. Yield loss can be severe, especially in late-planted corn. Under certain conditions a timely applied fungicide may help reduce damage to corn. @CornDisease (twitter) says that Southern Rust has been confirmed in KY, KS and NE. Corn has been trading wildly. At first glance I would think that corn should be substantially higher. I have to wonder if Trump's trade stance has the market spooked. If trade channels dry up even a smaller harvest may be too much corn. There has to be some reason for the depressed prices. Corn spikes and then gets crushed! Signed, Noob ag trader with no skin in the game.
Twitter @corndisease @soybean disease Northern Corn Leaf Blight showing up on MO and KS. These twitter accounts are put out by corn and soybean digest. Farmers send in pics, locale and what they are experiencing with their crop. So far Southern Rust and NCLB are showing up. Also, I read somewhere that only 1% of U.S. corn is edible. The rest is feed corn that is used in ethanol, chips, corn meal, etc.