12/23/08 Wheat export inspections still trending down

Market Line December 23, 2008 Wheat futures were mixed Monday, higher at Chicago and Kansas City, lower at Minneapolis. Weekly export inspections were below trade expectations and for the third straight week were less than needed on a weekly basis to meet USDA export projections. Louise Gartner for the Linn Group at the Chicago Board of Trade says weather has offered support for wheat. Gartner: "Course cold weather into the southern and central Plains, across the Midwest up into the Pacific Northwest creating all kinds of concern about the health of the crop that had little or no snow cover and really was not quite dormant before the cold weather hit. So obviously some questions as to whether there was some winterkill and we won't know those answers until spring, but the market has reacted to these weather events." Gartner also says the talk is Pakistan will take Black Sea wheat in the tender it has been working. On Monday Chicago March wheat was up 5 ¾ cents at 5-69. March corn up a penny at 3-81 ¾. Portland soft white wheat any protein unchanged to up a nickel at mostly 5-45. Maximum 10.5 percent protein 5-60. Club wheat 6-95. Maximum 10.5 percent club wheat 7-10. No hard red winter wheat bids. DNS 14% protein up eight cents at 8-33. No Portland barley bids. Cattle futures were moderately lower Monday. There was profit taking and bear spreading. Feb live cattle down 52 cents at 86-25. Jan feeders down 12 at 93-37. Jan Class III milk down six cents at 11-90. I'm Bob Hoff and that's Market Line on the Northwest Ag Information Network. Now this.