Wheat futures down on higher dollar

Market Line December 18, 2009- Wheat futures put in double-digit losses Thursday. Mark Chiodo of Chiodo Commodities at the Minneapolis Grain Exchange says it was a sharply higher dollar that had funds selling the grains.

Chiodo: “A lot of folks are concerned over economic troubles in Europe and that spurred a flight to the U.S. dollar. Oddly enough, we are considered stronger then they are. It began to flush a lot of shorts out of the dollar. There are a fair number of people that were short dollars and long commodities and the unwinding of that spurred a lot of selling in the grains. We had heavy volume, heavier than we‘ve had all week and it was all fund selling.”

Weekly export sales for wheat came in within trade expectations at just under 13 million bushels.

On Thursday Chicago March wheat was down 18 ¾ cents at 5-18 ½.

March corn down 13 ¼ cents at 3-97. Portland soft white wheat ten to 15 cents lower at 4-85. Club wheat premium $3. Hard red winter 11.5 protein for January was 5.40 to 5.50. Nearest bid for DNS 14 percent is for February 6-59 to 6-68. No Portland barley bids.  Cattle futures were mixed Thursday. The higher dollar and weak outside markets pressured live contracts along with nervousness about the cash trade. The lower corn futures helped feeders close higher. This afternoon the USDA issues its monthly Cattle on Feed report. Feb live cattle down 35 cents at 84-55. January feeders up 112 at 93-97. January Class III milk up two cents at 14-80.

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

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