Wheat futures mixed; cattle contracts higher

Market Line June 12, 2009 Minneapolis spring wheat futures closed higher Thursday but both Chicago and Kansas City posted losses. There was some support for wheat from the row crops. And Terry Linn with the Linn Group at the Chicago Board of Trade says there was some outside support for grains too.

Linn: “Outside markets were supportive with the dollar trading sharply lower and solid gains in crude oil and the equity markets.”

Other analysts say wheat is starting to feel harvest pressure. Also the bearish USDA report earlier this week continued to limit buying interest and bearish charts don’t help either.

Scab is reported in several eastern soft red winter wheat states and more rain is on tap for Midwest areas of that wheat belt.

Anheuser-Bush will be getting into the wheat market as it is going to launch a wheat version of Bud Light this fall.

On Thursday Chicago July wheat was down 1 ¼ cents at 5-94 3/4. July corn up 5 ¼ at 4-41. Portland soft white wheat and club wheat were steady to a dime lower at mostly 6-05 with some club bids to $7. August new crop soft white $6 to 6-10. HRW 11.5 % protein steady to down eight cents at 6-75. DNS 14% protein one to seven cents higher at 8-16. No Portland barley bids.

Cattle futures closed higher Thursday with short covering a feature. A strong stock market helped live cattle and took feeders higher as well. Traders were still awaiting fed cash market sales. August live cattle up 62 cents at 81-45. August feeders up 20 at 96-37. July Class III milk down eight cents at 10-51, a new low.

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

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