Strong dollar negative for commodities

Market Line June 16, 2009 Most commodities got battered by a move higher in the U.S. dollar Monday including wheat futures which closed lower. There were favorable comments about the dollar coming out of a G-8 conference. Wheat could get support today from some very severe weather forecast for Kansas, including damaging hail.

Louise Gartner for the Linn Group at the Chicago Board of Trade says some technical factors are also positive for wheat short term.

Gartner: “The market has technical reasons to find support here and get a bounce to the upside. Fundamentally it is hard to come up with a reason to do that. But nevertheless you have to be conscious that it could have, if nothing else, a short covering kind of cleansing rally to get even.”

Major wheat importer Egypt says it has enough wheat in stock for the rest of this year.

On Monday Chicago July wheat was down 9 ½ cents at 5-75 ¼. July corn down 19 ½ at 4-06. Portland soft white wheat and club wheat five to 15 cents lower at mostly 5-80 with some club bids to 6-70. August new crop soft white seven to 15 cents lower at 5-70 to 5-93. HRW 11.5 % protein three to five cents lower at 6-62. DNS 14% protein down 9-11 cents at 8-04. No Portland barley bids.

The broad based weakness in commodities as well as weak demand through the early summer pressured cattle futures lower Monday. Even the near 20 cent drop in corn futures didn’t help feeder contracts. August live cattle down 77 cents at 80-82. August feeders down 42 at 97-20.

July Class III milk down a dime at 10-35.

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

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