Wheat futures up; cattle mixed

Market Line December 3, 2010 Wheat futures closed higher Thursday though gains were trimmed late in the day on row crop weakness. Traders credited a lower dollar and the continued weather problems in the U.S. hard red winter wheat belt and in eastern Australia for the gains.

The weekly export sales report from USDA had 24.4 million bushels of old-crop wheat. Lynn Smith of the Zaner Group in Chicago says that was at the high end of expectations.

Smith: “It was a little over their high end but it is still not quite what we need to really be bullish. So it is healthy. It is friendly to the market but not really bullish at this point.”

On Thursday Chicago March wheat up 8 ½ cents at 7-48 ½. March corn down 10 ¾ cents at 5-55 ½. Portland soft white wheat by rail steady to 15 cents higher at mostly 6-60. Club wheat premium mostly 17 cents. Hard red winter 11.5 percent protein six cents higher at 7-87. No Portland DNS bids. Minneapolis December spring wheat futures up 7 ¾ cents at 8-13 ¼.

Live cattle futures were mostly lower Thursday with feeders higher. Profit taking was cited for live contracts as well as uncertainty about consumer willingness of paying more for beef. Some analysts say the market is overbought. Lower corn helped feeders late in the session. February live cattle down 30 cents at 106-47. January feeders up 27 at 118-67. January Class III milk down a dime at 13-66.

South Korea is fighting an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in pigs and cattle.

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

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