07/31/08 Wheat futures lower again

Market Line July 31, 2008 Higher crude oil and heat forecast for the Midwest helped corn futures Wednesday but wheat did not benefit. Contracts closed mostly lower with ample supplies and the on-going harvest in many areas weighing on the market. The Ukraine upped the estimate of its grain crop this year by three million metric tons. Peter Georgantones of Investment Trading Services in Bloomington, Minnesota says traders get the USDA weekly export sales report this morning. Georgantones: "Wheat has been having some very good export sales over the last two, three weeks here. We have sort of been exceeding expectations. They are looking for an all wheat number between 350 and 550 (thousand metric tons). Any thing over 550 I think would be a nice number." On Wednesday Chicago September wheat was down 4 ¼ cents at 7-87 ¾. September corn up 7 ½ at 6-01 ½. Portland soft white wheat steady at mostly 8-10. No club premium. HRW 11.5 % protein one to six cents lower at 9-04. DNS 14% protein two to three cents higher at 9-55. Barley at the coast 223 dollars a ton. Cattle futures were mostly higher Wednesday. Short covering and fund buying were cited. Oct live cattle up 55 at 106-15. Oct feeders up 75 at 114-62. The largest one day decline in barrel cheese prices, 28 cents, was negative for milk futures with Sept Class III milk down 75 cents at 18-14. Legislation that would have provided better oversight of speculation in the commodity markets failed in the U.S. House yesterday. I'm Bob Hoff and that's Market Line on the Northwest Ag Information Network. Now this.