10/20/06 Portland soft white bids drop

Marketline October 20, 2006 Lower Chicago futures from Tuesday and Wednesday as well as an increase in country selling caught up with Portland soft white wheat Thursday and spot bids dropped 14 cents a bushel. Futures meanwhile were mixed at Chicago but higher at Kansas City and Minneapolis. Weekly export sales of 445,300 metric tons were within trade expectations, but Joe Victor of Allendale Incorporated says wheat sales continue to run abut 23 to 26 percent behind year ago levels. Victor: "We could be seeing a transition period here where foreign buyers are cooling off a little bit or could actually be the very beginning of price rationing based on higher prices." On Thursday December Chicago wheat was up a half cent at 5-13. December corn up half at 3-16, Portland cash soft white wheat down 14 cents at mostly 4-99. Club wheat was also mostly 4-99. HRW 11.5 percent protein mixed at mostly 5-70. Dark northern spring 14% protein mixed at 5-80. Cattle futures were lower Thursday in limited action ahead of this afternoon's Cattle on Feed report from USDA. Lack of fed cash action was a negative and there are ideas beef values will decline as retailers begin preparing for Thanksgiving. Dec live cattle down 65 cents at 87-20. Nov feeders down 37 at 104-70. Nov Class III milk unchanged at 12-43. I'm Bob Hoff and that's Marketline on the Northwest Ag Information Network. Now this.