01/26/09 Beating debt collectors

The wheat market saw the weakest open among the grain markets today and then lagged briefly as corn and soybeans moved higher into mid session. Wheat then moved sharply higher as well, easily outpacing the gains in corn and soybeans. Wheat maintained most of the day's gains into the close despite weak finishes in corn and soybeans. Funds were buyers on the day. Better than expected export sales in wheat were considered supportive this morning and that was also true in corn and soybeans. The USDA announced a cancellation of a 356,000 tonne sale of US hard red wheat to Nigeria this morning. Most of this was for 2008/09 delivery. This total is not included on this week's Export Sales Report. Net weekly export sales for wheat were 410,300 tonnes for the current marketing year and 3,000 for next year for a total of 413,300. Sales need to average 252,000 tonnes each week to reach the USDA forecast. This week's soft red export sales (that is Chicago wheat) were only 4,500 tonnes for the current crop year. US soft red wheat remains more expensive than Europe or Russian wheat according to traders and today's price action will increase that disadvantage.