Iraq skips U.S. in wheat buy

Market Line May 6, 2010 Wheat futures gained a few cents Wednesday after coming back from heavy outside pressure early in the session on a higher dollar and lower crude oil. The potential for Midwest frosts this weekend offered support.

On the export front Mark Chiodo of Chiodo Commodities at the Minneapolis Grain Exchange says it looks like the U.S. missed out on some Iraqi business.

Chiodo: “I believe Iraq did buy 250-thousand tons of wheat, most of it Australian and Russian. So we missed on that but the dollar is so high I will be surprised if we can sell any wheat to anywhere. One of the interesting items is that hard wheat at the Gulf is now cheaper than soft wheat, which typically doesn’t happen.”

On Wednesday Chicago July wheat was up 1 ¼ cents at 5-12. July corn up four cents at 3-73. Portland soft white wheat steady at mostly 4-85. New crop August soft white also unchanged at 4-85 to 4-90. Club wheat premium mostly $1.50. HRW 11.5 % protein up a penny to down a penny at mostly 5-57. DNS 14% protein down four cents to up a penny at mostly 6-81. No Portland barley bids.

Cattle futures got pressure from outside markets Wednesday to finish mixed with front months the strongest. A lot of cash fed cattle sold yesterday from 98 to 100 dollars, steady to slightly above last week. Cash feeders were mixed. June live cattle up 67 cents at 96-70. August feeders up seven cents at 116-67. June Class III milk down eight cents at 13-63.

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

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