05/16/05 Wheat slips; more cattle contract highs

Marketline May 16, 2005 Rain in some drier areas of the Midwest and Plains pressured grain futures Friday. There was also carryover bearishness from Thursday's USDA report and outside pressure from a higher dollar and a lower CRB index. Traders are still watching dry areas in Australia, China, and Spain. And Dan Roose, of U.S. Commodities in Iowa, believes it will take some weather event to keep wheat from slipping more. Roose: "We have just a lot of competition for wheat in the world. Big supplies. That means we are going to have to have some kind of a weather problem in the world, some kind of production problem in the world on wheat or corn. I think what it means is that we continue to want to drift lower or at least rallies are going to be capped until we get into some real weather problems." On Friday Chicago July wheat was down six cents at 3-02 3/4. July corn down 3/4 at 2-03 ½. Portland cash white wheat two to four cents lower at mostly 3-88. New crop August lower at 3-70. Club wheat 3-93. PNW HRW 11.5 percent protein 3-93. Dark northern spring 14% protein 485. Export barley 104 dollars a ton. The southern Plains sold fed cattle at 90 to 90.50 Friday, fifty cents to a dollar lower than the previous week. Boxed beef was mixed and lower on the week but movement was good. Some cattle futures contracts put in their seventh straight day of new highs Friday. June live cattle up 47 cents at 87-27. Aug feeders up 42 at 112-32. June Class III milk up 12 cents at 13-86. I'm Bob Hoff and that's Marketline on the Northwest Ag Information Network.