01/15/07 Market holiday after a big rally

Marketline January 15, 2007 Future exchanges and USDA Market News are closed today due to the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday but Friday was a big day in the grain pits. A USDA cut in 06 corn production as well as ending stocks put corn limit up the whole day for nearly all contracts through Dec 07 and that took wheat up with it. As Mark Chiodo of Slipka Commodities at the Minneapolis Grain Exchange says, wheat has to compete with corn for acres. Chiodo: "Speculation that ultimately we will lose some more spring wheat acres here was on a lot of people's mind. And the fact that we will probably, in rationing the corn here, we will end up feeding a fair amount of wheat once new crop comes off." USDA reports for wheat Friday were neutral to bearish with winter wheat acreage as expected up nine percent but negative was an increase in U.S. carryout due to a reduction in exports, and also an increase in world wheat ending stocks. USDA did report a 100-thousand ton sale of U.S. wheat to Iraq. On Friday Chicago March wheat was up 23 cents at 4-79 ½. March corn up 20 at 3-96 ½. Portland cash soft white wheat was two to seven cents higher at mostly 4-94. Club wheat 4-94. HRW 11.5 percent protein up 19 cents at 5-75. Dark northern spring 14% protein up to 24 cents higher at 5-82. Barley at the coast higher at 172 dollars a ton. The big corn rally was negative for feeder futures Friday which were limit down and that pressured live contracts. Feb live cattle down 180 at 91-80. March feeders down three dollars at 92-95. Feb Class III milk up 23 cents at 13-63. I'm Bob Hoff and that's Marketline on the Northwest Ag Information Network. Now this.