10/03/08 Wheat and cattle futures drop hard on long liquidation

Market Line October 3, 2008 Commodities had a bail out of their own Thursday. That is longs bailing out of the market, sending wheat futures sharply lower and corn limit down. Brian Hoops of Midwest Market Solutions in Yankton, South Dakota says the market ignored fundamental news like good weekly export sales for wheat. Hoops: "It is mostly just the fact that we are seeing widespread fund liquidation due to the economic financial crisis and the higher dollar. Funds and index funds have been selling the dollar behind the grains as a spread. They are either unwinding or going the opposite way right now as they are buying the dollar and selling the grains. So we have some major chart implications and the question is how low can the markets go here. And my believe they can go as low as they want to." On Thursday Chicago December wheat was down 33 ¾ cents at 6-36. December corn down 30 cents at 4-54. Portland soft white wheat five to ten cents lower at mostly 6-25 with some premiums for maximum 10.5 protein. Club wheat 6-65. HRW 11.5 % protein 40-45 lower at 7-14. DNS 14% protein down 35 cents at 8-44. No Portland barley bids. Cattle futures plunged too on Thursday given the general market sell off and lower cash cattle. Dec live cattle down 240 at 98-07. Nov feeders down $3 at 100-60. Nov Class III milk up 12 cents at 15-67. I'm Bob Hoff and that's Market Line on the Northwest Ag Information Network. Now this.