01/31/07 Higher crude helps grain futures

Market Line January 31, 2007 Higher crude oil futures Tuesday helped corn and soybean futures and that spilled over to wheat contracts which closed higher. USDA also announced the sale of 100-thousand metric tons of U.S. hard red winter wheat to Iraq. Joe Victor of Allendale Incorporated notes we have seen export sales picking up in recent days when you also recall the sale to Egypt and unknown destinations. Victor: "There is demand surfacing for this wheat market and would suggest that we see some stronger sales coming in this Thursday on the weekly export sales and shipments." There have been some frigid temperatures in the northern Plains where some areas of winter wheat lack snow cover and some extreme cold could move into areas of the soft red winter wheat belt. On Tuesday Chicago March wheat was up three cents at 4-59 ½. March corn up 4 ¾ at 4-04 ¾. Portland cash soft white wheat steady to three cents lower, mostly 5-05. Club wheat 5-07. HRW 11.5 percent protein four to six cents higher at 5-57. Dark northern spring 14% protein three to nine cents higher at 5-71. Barley at the coast 171 dollars a ton. Cattle futures were lower Tuesday. Traders are trying to push live futures closer to the cash market. Feeders were under pressure from higher corn. April live cattle down 77 cents at 92-62. March feeders down 55 at 94-85. March Class III milk up three cents at 14-23. I'm Bob Hoff and that's Market Line on the Northwest Ag Information Network. Now this.