03/06/06 Weather focus of wheat traders

Marketline March 6, 2006 Futures traders will be checking the latest forecasts as they start a new week of trading today. Wheat futures were higher Friday on continued concerns about the dry southern Plains wheat belt even though there was moisture in the forecasts for this week heading into the weekend. Andy Schisler of E-Trade at the Chicago Board of Trade explains what's at stake for prices. Schisler: "If we don't get any rain we could bounce wheat up about 40-cents real quick. If we get some rain down about 40-cents. So we kind of know the anty and the anty's high." There were reports Friday that both Iraq and India are going to buy some Australian wheat. Schisler says that's not as negative as it seems. He says just the fact India is in the world market is a plus. On Friday May Chicago wheat was up 4 ½ cents at 3-85. May corn up a quarter at 2-39 ½. Portland cash white wheat two to four cents higher at mostly 3-70. August new crop higher at 3-77 to 3-81. Club wheat 4-11. HRW 11.5 percent protein higher at 4-88. Dark northern spring 14% protein higher at 5-44. No barley bids. Cattle futures were lower Friday on some lower cash prices and a drop in beef cutout values. There has been a delay in a visit to the U.S. by a Korean team that was hopefully going to pave the way for reopening that Asian market to U.S. beef. In the futures, April live cattle down 78 cents at 86-03. April feeders down 45 at 107-05. April Class III milk down 18 cents at 10-90. I'm Bob Hoff and that's Marketline on the Northwest Ag Information Network. Now this.