China says no need to import wheat

Market Line February 16, 2008 Futures exchanges and USDA are closed today for the President’s Day holiday with trading resuming tomorrow. On Friday wheat futures were slightly lower again in slow trading. Wheat got spillover pressure from the row crops which were lower on the precipitation in Argentina. Louise Gartner for the Linn Group at the Chicago Board of Trade says Chinese officials are saying about five percent of the nation’s wheat crop could be lost from drought but no wheat imports are expected. Gartner: “Of course they are drowning in grain stocks, wheat being one of them. So unless they have a serious crop production problem they will not be a player in import market this coming year.� On Friday Chicago March wheat was down 3 ¼ cents at 5-35 ½. March corn down three at 3-63 ¼. Portland soft white wheat any protein steady at mostly 5-70. Maximum 10.5 percent protein 5-75. August new crop 5-31 to 5-73. Club wheat 7-20. Maximum 10.5 percent club wheat 7-25. HRW 11.5 % protein unchanged to down a penny at 6-15. DNS 14% protein down three at 7-82. No Portland barley bids. Cattle futures posted moderate losses Friday. There was spillover pressure from outside markets and nervousness about the lack of cash fed cattle trading during the session. That’s one thing traders will be looking at tomorrow when markets reopen. April live cattle down 50 cents at $87. March feeders down 67 at 94-47. March Class III milk unchanged at 10-44. I’m Bob Hoff and that’s Market Line on the Northwest Ag Information Network. Now this.