A market holiday

Market Line May 25, 2009 Futures exchanges and USDA’s Market News are closed this Memorial Day. On Friday wheat futures rallied with double digit gains. Commentators pointed to a lot of funding buying along with support from a lower dollar and forecasts for rain that may further delay Northern Plains spring wheat planting. Fundamentally however, many traders question the need for a rally.

On Friday Chicago July wheat was up 19 cents at 6-12 ½. July corn up 6 ¼ at 4-30 ¼. Portland soft white wheat and club wheat seven to 15 cents higher at mostly 5-90 with some $1.05 premiums on club. August new crop soft white higher at 5-85 to 5-95. HRW 11.5 % protein 12-14 cents higher at 6-86. DNS 14% protein eight to 18 cents higher at 8-40. No Portland barley bids.

USDA issued a monthly Cattle on Feed Report Friday and Troy Vetterkind of the Linn Group sums it up.

Vetterkind: “Cattle on Feed showed 97% on feed, right in line with estimates; 104% placed. That was about two points below what the market was looking for and 93% marketed. That is about a percent below what the market was looking for. I‘d call live and feeder cattle futures probably 20-25 higher Tuesday morning on the open because of the report.”

Ahead of the report cattle futures were slightly higher. August live cattle up 55 cents at 83-77. August feeders up 25 at 101-92. July Class III milk down 13 cents at 11-02.

I’m Bob Hoff and that’s Market Line on the Northwest Ag Information Network. Now this.