Mixed Market Awaiting USDA Crop Report

Mixed Market Awaiting USDA Crop Report

I'm KayDee Gilkey with the Market Line Report for February 9, 2012.

A turn from lower to higher for the US dollar and weakness in outside market forces helped drag the market from higher to lower on the day into the mid-session.

From the CME floor, Frank Lesh with Future Path Trading shares his observations of Wednesday’s market:

Lesh: “Up a little, down a little -- mixed market today but not a lot of change but although wider ranges than expected. Well, all eyes on tomorrow’s monthly crop report, of course. Really expectations here are for a reduction for South American production. The big question of course is exactly how much. We know they’ve had the weather problems and been a lot of wide swings in price on those weather problems there in South America. We are also wondering how much of this reduction is already priced in to the market. We will find out first thing in the morning.”

March corn was 1/4 of a cent at 6-42 and 1/2. March Wheat ended Wednesday down 1 and 1/2 cents at 6-60 and 3/4.

Portland prices for soft white wheat and club wheat were up about 9 cents at mostly 7-09. Hard Red Winter Wheat with 11.5 pct protein was at a range of 7-77 to 7-85. DNS wheat with 14 pct protein had no available prices for Wednesday.

April live cattle were up 23 cents at 128-80. March feeder cattle were up 28 cents at 155.28 even. March class III milk was down 15 cents at 15-46.

I'm KayDee Gilkey with the Market Line Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.