08/31/05 Hurricane concerns pressure wheat

08/31/05 Hurricane concerns pressure wheat

Marketline August 31, 2005 Wheat futures were lower at Chicago and Kansas City Tuesday while some Minneapolis spring wheat contracts posted gains. Concerns about export delays from the Gulf from Hurricane Katrina pressured Chicago and Kansas City. Hard red winter wheat exports had been leading the charge lately having already hit 44 percent of USDA's projection for the marketing year. Peter Georgantones of Investment Trading Services in Bloomington, Minnesota, says the funds keep selling but at some point they will have to cover their record short positions. Georgantones: "They are getting to the point where this thing is so over sold and they added so many short positions, along with the little guy, that I think eventually we are going to see this thing take a turn here and we are going to see some shortcovering." Georgantones says such a short covering rally could pop wheat futures higher by 20-25 cents in a day. The unknown is what might trigger such a rally. On Tuesday December Chicago wheat was down three cents at 3-23 1/4. December corn down a penny at 2-18 ½. The lower Chicago futures and moderate country selling pressured soft white wheat at Portland which was down four cents at mostly 3-40. Club wheat 3-50. PNW HRW 11.5 percent protein mostly 4-25. Dark northern spring 14% protein higher at 4-86. Export barley 105 dollars a ton. Hurricane Katrina was a factor in cattle futures Tuesday too. Traders are concerned that higher prices for fuel and energy will leave consumers with less to spend on beef. Oct live cattle down 107 at 82-53. Oct feeders down 55 at 110-08. Oct Class III milk up 13 cents at 14-22. I'm Bob Hoff and that's Marketline on the Northwest Ag Information Network.
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