04/06/06 Weather supports wheat; cattle rally

Marketline April 6, 2006 Wheat futures closed higher Wednesday. Weather is the main focus of traders. The southern Plains remain dry and now there are concerns in the northern Plains spring wheat belt about flooding delaying field work. Mark Chiodo with Slipka Commodities at the Minneapolis Grain Exchange says the trade is beginning to put some weather premium back in the market and trying to buy more spring wheat acres. Chiodo: "It feels like we are going to go back up and test the recent highs across the board in the wheats." Chiodo says new crop corn is getting considerable hedge pressure. The market gets USDA's weekly export sales report this morning. On Wednesday May Chicago wheat was up 4 ¼ cents at 3-47. May corn up 1 ¾ at 2-36 ¼. Portland cash white wheat steady to three cents higher at mostly 3-56. August new crop 3-66. Club wheat 3-76. HRW 11.5 percent protein higher at 4-79. Dark northern spring 14% protein higher at 5-46. No Portland barley bids . There were more contract lows in cattle futures during Wednesday's trading session but a late rally had contracts closing higher. Cattle futures have been in a down trend since January and traders are not yet ready to say a bottom is in. Fundamentals remain bearish. June live cattle up 93 cents at 74-05. May feeders up 118 at 100-40. May Class III milk unchanged at 10-90. I'm Bob Hoff and that's Marketline on the Northwest Ag Information Network. Now this.