03/31/06 USDA reports today

Marketline March 31, 2006 Wheat futures closed higher Thursday on a good weekly export sales report with outside markets also getting some credit for helping grain. Gold and silver hit multi -year highs and the dollar was down. Today however the attention will be on USDA's Quarterly Grains Stocks Report and Planting Intentions. Vic Lespinasse of A. G. Edwards at the Chicago Board of Trade sums up trade expectations. Lespinasse: "For the Planting Intentions, all wheat 58.3 million acres. Winter wheat 41.4 million. Spring 14.1 million. Durum 2.6 million. Corn 80.6 million and soybeans 74.1 million acres." On Thursday May Chicago wheat was up 2 ¾ cents at 3-44 ½. May corn up 3 ½ at 2-27 ¾. Portland cash white wheat for April steady to two cents lower but mostly 3-55. August new crop unchanged to lower at 3-67. April Club wheat 3-80. April HRW 11.5 percent protein higher at 4-68. Dark northern spring 14% protein up two cents at 5-28. No Portland barley bids. Cattle futures, which had put in a string of down days and contract lows, rebounded Thursday to close mostly higher. Traders said the market had been oversold. The focus is also beginning to look beyond Easter for retailers to book post-Easter features. June live cattle up 115 at 75-90. May feeders up 82 at 104-40. May Class III milk unchanged at 10-85. I'm Bob Hoff and that's Marketline on the Northwest Ag Information Network. Now this.