11/24/05 A market holiday

Marketline November 24, 2005 Futures exchanges are closed today and when traders return to the pits tomorrow they will have shortened hours. Wheat futures were steady to lower Wednesday. Nearby Chicago wheat found technical support at Tuesday's contract low with some short covering, while funds were selling Kansas City and Minneapolis where they have been net long. A weekend storm may miss some of the driest areas of the hard red winter wheat belt in the southern Plains. With the holiday today, Peter Georgantones of Investment Trading Services in Minnesota says USDA's weekly export sales report will be out Friday morning. Georgantones: "We're looking for about 400-thousand tons of wheat sold. I'd like to see that number closer to the 550 to 600 or higher area. I think that would be a little more supportive to the market." On Wednesday March Chicago wheat was unchanged at 3-12 3/4. March corn down a penny at 2-04 1/4. Portland cash white wheat was steady to weak at mostly 3-41. Club wheat 3-86. PNW HRW 11.5 percent protein lower at 4-40. Dark northern spring 14% protein lower at 5-12. Export barley 103 dollars a ton. Cattle futures were higher again Wednesday. News of higher cash cattle prices, about 91 dollars, and forecasts for rain and snow in the Plains feeding areas provided fundamental support. Feb live cattle up 80 cents at 94-30. Jan feeders up 122 at 114-40. Jan Class III milk up four cents at 12-77. I'm Bob Hoff and that's Marketline on the Northwest Ag Information Network.