Wheat Market Closes Slightly Lower

I’m KayDee Gilkey with the Market Line Report for April 19, 2013. ?
Chicago and KC wheat traded lower on the day despite explosive export sales data Thursday morning. From the floor of the CME Group, Joe Vaclavik shares his observations of Thursday’s markets.

Vaclavik: “Grain markets here in Chicago today were mixed: we had nearby corn contracts sharply lower, we had nearby soybean contracts higher, and wheat was somewhere in the middle kind of trading both sides here to day. We had some export sales out this morning. Everything was really good. What stuck out to me was the new crop wheat sales 1.1 million metric tons -- very big sale there. It is good to see the wheat demand is improving. You know we’ve got some better demand; we’ve got more weather problems across the plains -- freezing conditions in a lot of hard wheat country which will certainly going to have some impact on final production.”

Chicago May Wheat ended Thursday down a penny at 7-02 and 3/4. May corn ended the day down 16 cents at 6-44 and 1/2.??Portland prices for soft white wheat and club wheat were down 3 and 3/4 to 7 and 1/4 cents at mostly 7-86 and 1/2. Hard Red Winter Wheat with 11.5 pct protein prices were up 1 and 3/4 cents at mostly 8-84 and 3/4. DNS wheat with 14 pct protein prices were up 3 and 1/2 cents at mostly 9-32 and 1/4. ??June live cattle were down Thursday 45 cents at 121-37 and half. May Feeder cattle were down 85 cents at 140-05. May class III milk was down 2 cents at 19-27.