01/03/06 Watching for index funds

Marketline January 3, 2006 Traders return from their long holiday weekend today to begin a new year. Wheat futures staged a late rally in the last session Friday to close higher after spending most of the day in the loss column. Traders will be anticipating a winter wheat plantings report due out January 12th along with a quarterly grains stocks report. Last week's export sales report was at the low end of expectations. Peter Georgantones of Investment Trading Services in Minnesota thinks wheat could continue to move up, but not on fundamentals. Georgantones: "You know I still think wheat can trudge higher because the small speculator is still short wheat and the funds are still short wheat so I think that will create a situation where you will get some short covering in here. But that's about it." Traders have also been anticipating an influx of index fund long money now that the new year is here. Observers say that expectation fueled some of last week's strength in wheat. On Friday March Chicago wheat was up two cents at 3-39 1/4. March corn up 4 3/4 at 2-15 3/4. Portland cash white wheat down a penny at mostly 3-47. Club wheat 3-92. PNW HRW 11.5 percent protein unchanged to higher at 4-64. Dark northern spring 14% protein higher at 5-17. Export barley 100 dollars a ton. Cattle futures were mixed in the last session Friday. Fed cattle sold lower last week in the $94 to 94-50 range. Feb live cattle down three cents at 96-38. March feeders up 75 at 114-72. Feb Class III milk up six cents at 12-91. I'm Bob Hoff and that's Marketline on the Northwest Ag Information Network.