12/28/06 Pakistan okays wheat exports

Marketline December 28, 2006 Wheat futures posted losses Wednesday as the funds weren't interested in buying and corn was also lower. Fundamental news was negative with more moisture for the U.S. Plains. And Joe Victor of Allendale Incorporated says Pakistan has ended its 2 ½ year export embargo on grain. Victor: "Pakistan has announced that they do fully intend to go ahead and export 500-thousand tons of wheat. That is a bit of surprise as Pakistan typically year-in and year-out is an importer of wheat." News that India's March wheat crop will be about 75 million tonnes, up nearly seven million over last year, was also negative even though the U.S. didn't get any of India's wheat import business this past year. On Wednesday Chicago March wheat was down 9 ¾ cents at 5-07. March corn down 1 ¼ at 3-86 ¾. Portland cash soft white wheat steady to two cents higher at mostly 5-03 for January. Club wheat 5-03. HRW 11.5 percent protein mostly 5-77. Dark northern spring 14% protein mostly 5-90. Barley at the coast 176 dollars a ton for January. Cattle futures were higher Wednesday. Higher cash beef prices were supportive fundamentally but most of the positive credit was given to expectations of large amounts of new funds coming into the market from index funds. Feb live cattle up 197 at 92-07. March feeders up 175 at 96-72. Feb Class III milk up a dime at 13-30. I'm Bob Hoff and that's Marketline on the Northwest Ag Information Network. Now this.