03/03/06 Wheat futures higher on fund buying

Marketline March 3, 2006 Wheat futures recovered much of the previous session's losses during Thursday's trading and closed higher. This despite a disappointing weekly export sales report from USDA and some rain remaining in the forecast for the dry southern Plains. Andy Schisler of E-Hedging at the Chicago Board of Trade, isn't sure there were any fundamentals at work in the grains, just the funds. Schisler: "The funds went grocery shopping, filled up their cart full of corn, beans and wheat. They blew the silver market up. It is just fund buying. In crude oil, it really didn't matter. Occasionally we run across one of these. It won't be the first, won't be the last. Just fund buying. That is the big issue." The possibility of bird flu in the Bahamas had been cited as a negative for feed grains Wednesday but officials in the Bahamas say although they have some dead birds, they are skeptical it's from highly pathogenic bird flu. On Thursday May Chicago wheat was up 6 ½ cents at 3-80 ½. May corn up 4 ½ at 2-39 ¼. Portland cash white wheat was mixed at mostly 3-66. August new crop 3-73 to 3-79. Club wheat 4-07. HRW 11.5 percent protein higher at 4-82. Dark northern spring 14% protein up a dime at 5-42. No barley bids. Cattle futures were mixed Thursday. Weaker wholesale beef prices and limited cash market action weighed on contracts. April live cattle down 22 cents at 86-80. April feeders down 38 at 107-50. April Class III milk down nine cents at 11-08. I'm Bob Hoff and that's Marketline on the Northwest Ag Information Network. Now this.