Wheat futures bounce; cattle lower

Market Line April 7, 2010 Wheat futures were higher Tuesday in what some market observers called a bounce with little news. The dollar was higher but there were reports Iraq purchased a small amount of wheat from the U.S. with larger volumes going to Russia.

If USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey is correct it doesn’t look like the market will see much in the way of planting delays this spring in the Midwest.

Rippey: “For one, the flooding that we have seen from the eastern Dakotas into the middle Mississippi Valley peaked earlier in the year, in March rather than early April, a coupe of weeks ahead of schedule. So that is giving soils an opportunity to dry out a little faster, especially with the warm weather we have seen in April.”

On Tuesday Chicago May wheat was up at dime at 4-63 ½. May corn up ¾ of a cent at 3-46 ½. Portland soft white wheat a nickel higher at mostly 4-67. New crop August soft white five to ten cents higher at 4-65 to 4-80. Club wheat premium $3.67. HRW 11.5 % protein up a dime at mostly 5-25. DNS 14% protein eight to 18 cents higher at mostly 6-93. No Portland barley bids.

Cattle futures closed lower Tuesday with profit taking cited on what was considered an overbought market. Traders are now a little nervous about what cash fed cattle will do this week as well. June live cattle down 62 cents at 93-57. May feeders down 90 at 113-22. May Class III milk up 42 cents at 13-92 on continued gains in cheese prices.

I’m Bob Hoff and that’s Market Line on Northwest Aginfo Net.