10/27/08 Waiting for a short covering bounce

Market Line October 27, 2008 A higher dollar, lower crude and down stock market kept the pressure on grain futures Friday with wheat contracts posting losses. Louise Gartner with the Linn Group at the Chicago Board of Trade points out that harvest is getting underway in the southern hemisphere. Gartner: "Argentina has already started their harvest in the northern part of the country. Of course yields there are very disappointing as they experienced drought most of the growing season. But we are entering the harvest season for wheat in the southern hemisphere and I would imagine that would continue to add an element of pressure to the market. However, as oversold as these grain markets are, a short covering bounce could take us an impressive rally to the upside, but we still have to have some stability in the equities, some notion that these grains can sustain a temporary bottom." On Friday Chicago December wheat was down 6 ¾ cents at 5-16 ¼. December corn down 17 ½ at 3-72 ¾. The nearest Portland soft white wheat cash bids were for December at 4-83 to 4-85 a bushel. Maximum 10.5 percent protein for October was 4-63. Club wheat maximum 10.5 percent protein 4-85. No hard red winter wheat bids. DNS 14% protein mixed at 7-64. No Portland barley bids. Lower stocks again sent cattle futures down sharply Friday with lower corn unable to help feeder contracts. Dec live cattle down 2-32 at 87-55. January feeders down 297 at 93-10. A big plunge in cheese prices sent milk futures lower with Dec Class III down 31 cents at 14-30. Cooperatives Working Together announced it will hold another herd retirement buyout this fall, its second this year. I'm Bob Hoff and that's Market Line on the Northwest Ag Information Network. Now this.