Winter wheat futures move higher as spring wheat stumbles

Market Line May 29, 2009 The weekly export sales report due out this morning could provide direction to the wheat market today. Thursday futures at Chicago and Kansas City closed higher with Minneapolis spring wheat contracts lower. But even in the winter wheats there was late selling pressure, which Louise Gartner of the Linn Group at the Chicago Board of Trade says suggests the rally is running out of gas.

Gartner: “And of course Chicago and Kansas City looking at harvest just around the corner. It is very hard to rally the market when you have grain moving into the pipeline.”

Gartner again emphasized harvest reports out of Texas showing good test weights and protein despite the drought and freeze, which she says can also pressure spring wheat futures. A 6-10 day forecast calls for above normal precip in the Northern Plains.

On Thursday Chicago July wheat was up 4 ¾ cents at 6-30 ½. July corn up 2 ¾ at 4-28 ¾. Higher Chicago futures helped Portland soft white wheat and club wheat bids which were ten to 20 cents higher at mostly 6-20 for June. Some dollar premiums on club wheat. August new crop soft white also higher at 6-20. HRW 11.5 % protein 7-11. DNS 14% protein most 8-53 with no price comparison. No Portland barley bids.

Cattle futures saw some triple digit losses Thursday. Contracts got pressure from concerns about summer beef demand and what now looks like at least a dollar lower cash fed prices this week. August live cattle down 125 at 81-85. August feeders down 62 at 101-82. July Class III milk up four cents at 11-35 on higher cheese prices in active trading.

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

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