Shortened trading week

Market Line Nov. 21, 2011 Futures exchanges will be closed for Thanksgiving this Thursday and there will be some shortened hours Friday.

This past Friday wheat futures were higher at Chicago and Kansas City, lower at Minneapolis. Talk of improved moisture for the southern plains and the increasing availability of southern hemisphere wheat for export were cited as negative forces. Short covering helped Chicago close higher.

Egypt was tendering for wheat over the weekend.

On Friday Chicago December wheat up 5 ¾ cents at 5-98 ¼. December corn down 4 ¼ cents at 6-10 ¼. Portland soft white wheat and club wheat steady to a nickel lower at mostly 5-90. Hard red winter 11.5 percent protein up two cents at 7-29. DNS 14% protein seven to 27 cents lower at mostly 10-03.

Cattle futures were lower Friday ahead of the Cattle on Feed report. Some cash fed cattle sold two to three dollars lower than the previous week. USDA analyst Shayle Shagum says the feedlot inventory for November 1st was up four percent from a year ago, placements down one and marketings last month up three percent.

Shagum: “So we still have to work through those relatively large supplies that are currently sitting in feedlots and since these are lightweight animals they will have to remain on feed a little longer. But to the extent that we do expect to see continued below year earlier placements moving forward, would tend to imply that as we work down that bulge of cattle that came in earlier in the year those supplies of cattle on feed are going to be diminishing as we move through 2012.”

USDA reported Friday October milk production in the major producing states up 2.5 percent from October of 2010.

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

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