Grains rally after USDA reports; cattle too

Market Line April 1, 2009 Wheat futures posted 20 cent plus gains Tuesday following USDA's Prospective Plantings and Quarterly Grains Stocks reports. USDA pegged total U.S wheat acres at 58.6 million down seven percent from last year. Spring wheat acreage of 13.3 million acres was considered supportive to the market. But Nelson Byrd of the Linn Group at the Chicago Board of Trade says it was a surprisingly low soybean acreage number that helped the market overall. Byrd: "Enthusiastic buying in the soybean market along with friendlier outside markets prompted support for wheat and corn as well. Late session fund buying was said to be present as spec money may be trying to find good value in this marketplace." Export news wasn't friendly for the U.S. with Saudi Arabia buying nearly a half million metric tons of Canadian and German wheat and Egypt buying Russian. On Tuesday Chicago May wheat was up 20 ¼ cents at 5-32 ¾. May corn up 18 ½ at 4-04 ¾. Portland soft white wheat any protein and maximum 10.5 steady at mostly 5-55. August new crop five to 15 cents higher at 5-30 to 5-35. Club wheat 7-30. HRW 11.5 % protein up 18 cents at 6-18. DNS 14% protein 28-30 cents higher at 7-99. No Portland barley bids. Cattle futures rallied Tuesday too with outside markets helping. Traders disagree however on whether beef demand is improving enough to support higher prices. Some brokers say feedlot inventories should be tightening and we are heading for a season of increased beef demand. April live cattle up 110 at 83-92. April feeders up 97 at 93-17. April Class III milk down two cents at 11-28. I'm Bob Hoff and that's Market Line on the Northwest Ag Information Network. Now this.