Bearish wheat fundamentas haunt futures

Market Line August 19, 2009 Egypt was tendering for wheat overnight and the results could give the wheat market direction today.

Wheat futures were slightly lower Tuesday in light trading. Outside markets helped corn and bean futures rally back but not wheat says Terry Linn of the Linn Group at the Chicago Board of Trade.

Linn: “Wheat however, could not participate in the rally and remains under pressure with many eager to sell what is seen as an overpriced market in term of world wheat values and domestic supply and demand.”

Some analysts think wheat is oversold and they are looking for a bounce in the short term.

The Australian Weather Bureau says the El Nino Southern Oscillation Index has strengthened in the past week. El Nino is linked with drought in the wheat areas of Australia but so far crop conditions there are said to be mostly favorable for wheat.

On Tuesday Chicago September wheat was down 1 ¼ cents at 4-70 ½.

September corn up a quarter cent at 3-14 ½. Portland soft white wheat steady to a nickel lower at mostly 4-83. Club wheat mostly 6-58. HRW 11.5 % protein mixed at mostly 5-40. DNS 14% protein steady to two cents higher at 6-21. No Portland barley bids.

Cattle futures were higher Tuesday. Live contracts got some support from higher boxed beef prices and good packer margins. Short covering was a feature for both live and feeder contracts. October live cattle up 102 at 88-85. October feeders up a dollar 101-22. September Class III milk up 17 cents at 12-58 ahead of USDA reporting July milk production in the major producing states was up one-tenth of a percent from July of 2008.

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

Now this.