05/29/06 Futures higher into long weekend

Marketline May 29, 2006 Futures exchanges and USDA reporting offices are closed for Memorial Day today. Friday wheat futures closed higher. There wasn't much hedge pressure like their usually is ahead of this holiday with the harvest of both hard red winter wheat and soft red winter expanding. Joe Vidora of F. C. Stone at the Chicago Board of Trade had this take on what was going on Friday. Vidora: "And you get the feeling that what it amounts to is that the short wants to get a little cover here before a three-day weekend. And the guy who is sitting there wanting to sell it, isn't going to for the same reason, a three-day weekend. So, when you look at it that way, the markets are gonna be strong." On Friday July Chicago wheat was up six cents at 4-15 ½. July corn up ¾ at 2-54. Portland cash white wheat was steady to a penny higher at mostly 3-85. August new crop unchanged to higher at 3-98. Club wheat mostly 3-95. HRW 11.5 percent protein up seven cents at 5-66. Dark northern spring 14% protein up seven at 5-85. No Portland barley bids. A two dollar jump in cash fed cattle late last week helped cattle futures close higher Friday. Traders also expected good weather for most the nation over the holiday weekend which would mean strong beef demand. Aug live cattle up 65 cents at 79-85. Aug feeders up 57 at 108-75. July Class III milk up 19 cents at 11-99. I'm Bob Hoff and that's Marketline on the Northwest Ag Information Network. Now this.