Crop concerns help wheat futures

Market Line May 8, 2009 Winter wheat futures were the leaders Thursday with double digit gains. Action at Chicago was described as a technical affair while Kansas City got support from hard red winter wheat crop estimates. The Oklahoma Grain and Feed Association pegged the Oklahoma crop at 77.5 million bushels, down 53 percent from last year. After the close the wheat tour in Kansas pegged that crop at 333 million bushels, which would be 23 million bushels less than 2008 production. There is still a lot of wheat around the world though, and Peter Georgantones with Investment Trading Services in Bloomington, Minnesota, just can't get bullish. Georgantones: "I fundamentally can't see any reason why we should rally wheat a lot this year, but I think from a perspective of fund money getting involved with all these commodities right now, CRB was the highest it has been since last October, the CRB Index. It makes a lot more sense from that that perspective." On Thursday Chicago July wheat was up 11 ½ cents at 5-70 ¼. July corn up 4 ½ at 4-12. Portland soft white wheat all proteins three to ten cents higher at mostly 5-55. August new crop higher at 5-55 to 5-58. All club wheat mostly 5-55 but bids ranged up to 6-08. HRW 11.5 % protein five to seven cents higher at 6-44. DNS 14% protein four to nine cents higher at 8-07. No Portland barley bids. Cattle futures were slightly higher Thursday despite some lower cash fed cattle sales. June live cattle up 15 cents at 82-02. August feeders up seven at 99-07. June Class III milk up 15 cents at 10-68. I'm Bob Hoff and that's Market Line on the Northwest Ag Information Network. Now this.