03/13/06 Contract highs for wheat; lows for cattle

Marketline March 13, 2006 Wheat futures traders will continue to focus on weather for the U.S. Plains this week. Friday saw the hard red wheat futures lead the way higher still due to the dryness in the hard red winter wheat belt. The USDA report Friday had no changes for U.S. wheat supply and demand domestically and little change globally. Peter Georgantones of Investment Trading Services in Minnesota says the next big report will be the end of this month with planting intentions. Georgantones: "I think we are going to end up buying some spring wheat acres off this rally. Spring wheat acres away from beans and corn. We are in an uptrend. We are in a bull market. We need and area where this thing feels like enough is enough. I am not sure where that is right now." On Friday May Chicago wheat was up a half cent at 3-81 ½. May corn up 2 ½ at 2-34 ½. Portland cash white wheat was one to three cents lower on moderate country movement at mostly 3-57. August new crop unchanged at 3-62 to 3-70. Club wheat 3-97. HRW 11.5 percent protein higher at 4-93. Dark northern spring 14% protein higher at 5-46. No barley bids. Lower cash fed cattle prices sent many live and feeder cattle futures to new contract lows Friday extending the week's losses. The fundamentals remain negative with large feedlot supplies, heavy weights, competition from other proteins and the still closed Japanese market. April live cattle down 52 cents at 83-45. April feeders down 167 at 102-95. April Class III milk down six cents at 11-09. I'm Bob Hoff and that's Marketline on the Northwest Ag Information Network. Now this.