Good wheat export sales; packers pay up for cattle

Market Line August 20, 2010 Wheat futures were sharply higher Thursday. Mark Chiodo of Chiodo Commodities at the Minneapolis Grain Exchange says the action really started overnight Wednesday.

Chiodo: “Some unnamed Russian ag minister and came out and mentioned that they indeed would have to import wheat. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.5 to 5 million tons. That got the market started overnight and we never looked back, at least in the wheat.”

Adding to the bullishness was a weekly export sales report for wheat of nearly 52 million bushels. Egypt was the biggest U.S. buyer. There were also reports that Egypt has purchased some French and Canadian wheat.

India is saying it will not lift its export ban on wheat until a full accounting of grain stocks is made.

On Thursday Chicago September wheat up 25 ¼ cents at 6-81 ¼. September corn was down 4 ¼ cents at 4-14 ¼. Portland soft white wheat ten to 15 cents higher at mostly 6-38. Club wheat premium mostly 19 cents. HRW 11.5 % protein 20 to 25 cents higher at 6-70. No Portland DNS bids. Minneapolis spring wheat futures for September were up 22 ½ cents at 7-06 ½.

Cattle futures posted some more new highs Thursday as packers paid up for cattle in the cash market. Fed cattle sold four to five dollars higher than last week at 97 to 100 dollars. Today is USDA’s monthly Cattle on Feed Report. On Thursday October live cattle up 170 at 99-17. October feeders up 162 at 116-57. September Class III milk up a penny at 15-38.

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

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