Milling & Baking News - November 23, 2004 - 33

I N G R E D I E N T

plies in a timely manner because of worsening delays in railroad placement of
cars. Delays were running from two to
four weeks. So if an elevator hadn't much
earlier placed orders for cars, it wasn't
able to load out wheat to take advantage
of the near record basis and the inverse
that recently emerged in wheat futures
prices. Most rail cars were hauling fall
crops or were otherwise committed.
Some mills bought trucklots of wheat
for December. But to-arrive business in
rail was light, limited to small purchases
for January at discounts of about 20c a bu
to the nearby basis. Elevators offered rail
wheat in good volume for JanuaryMarch, but with the exception of the business noted, they and mills were about
5@6c a bu apart from concluding significant transactions.
Wheat condition showed minor deterioration in the week ended Nov. 14.
Wheat rated good to excellent was 78% in
Kansas (80% a week earlier), 85% in Texas
(82%), 81% in Oklahoma (84%), 58% in
Nebraska (64%) and 76% in Colorado
(76%). Producers soldiered on in efforts
to wrap up fall crop harvest.
HARD SPRING. Premiums on hard red
spring wheat at Minneapolis were 25c a
bu higher to 15c lower last week. Wheat
with protein in the 14% range and lower
bounced from steep losses sustained the
previous week. There was no quote on 14%
protein on Friday, but the Thursday quote
was 140c over Minneapolis December,
compared with 100@120 over at the end
of the preceding week. Higher-protein
wheat slipped a bit. But the basis remained
at highest levels in a decade, at least for
wheat with higher protein. Strength in
high-protein wheat was attributed to slack
movement affecting all wheat and to the
low average protein of the 2004 crop.
Mill demand was sporadic. Mill competition for supply at the week's outset
sparked the basis recovery. After Monday,
though, individual mills drifted in and out
of the market. A factor was the sluggish
pace of wheat movement, which provided
few spot cars to bid on and a lack of variety
and sometimes quality in what was offered.
It was thought that if there were more quality offers, more buyers would be active.
Export elevators at Duluth-Superior
bought wheat from the truck market to
stem vessels for loading before the end of
the shipping season. But the elevators
didn't press for rail offers.
Farmers have been selling some
wheat, but the dearth of rail cars available for loading wheat limited the effect
on the market.
While the soybean harvest across the
northern Plains was not much behind the
normal pace, the corn harvest continued
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to lag. The corn harvest in North Dakota
was 47% done by Nov. 14 compared with
93% as the recent five-year average for
date, Minnesota 83% done (96%), and
South Dakota 70% complete (97%).
SOFT RED. Mill bids on soft red winter
wheat were firm to 30c a bu higher. The
28c gain occurred at St. Louis, where certain mills pressed hard for supply to shore
up pipelines. Efforts to secure wheat were

W E E K

complicated both by continued country
engagement in the fall crop harvest and
by widespread vomitoxin in the 2004 crop.
In Kansas City, No. 1 soft red bids held
at 40@65c over K.C. December. Gulf bids
on nearby advanced 5c, to 90c over Chicago December. St. Louis mill bids
surged 23c a bu higher, to 98c over Chicago December for less than 2 p.p.m.
vomitoxin and minimum 300 falling
number. The Chicago mill basis held at

Chicago Wheat Futures

No. 1 Hard Winter

December contract, $ per bu

Basis Kansas City Dec., cents per bu
Premium Week's Change Year ago
Ordinary
57 @67
+3 @+3
33@43
11%
70 @80
+3 @+3
40@50
11.2%
72 @82
+3 @+3
43@53
11.4%
78 @88
+6 @+6
46@56
11.6%
93 @103
+16 @+16
47@57
11.8%
93 @103
+11 @+11
48@58
12%
93 @103
+8 @+8
48@58
12.2%
93 @103
+8 @+8
49@59
12.4%
93 @103
+8 @+8
50@60
12.6%
98 @108
+13 @+13
51@61
12.8%
100 @110
+10 @+10
52@62
13%
101 @111
+10 @+10
53@63
13.2%
102 @112
+10 @+10
54@64
13.4%
103 @113
+5 @+5
55@65
13.6%
104 @114
+4 @+4
56@66
13.8%
105 @115
+3 @+3
56@66
14%
110 @120
+5 @+5
57@67

Chicago Wheat Futures
March contract, $ per bu

No. 1 Hard Spring, Minneapolis
Milling quality, basis Dec., cents per bu
Premium Week's Change
Ordinary
...
...
11%
...
...
12%
...
...
13%
50 @ 55
+5 @ +10
13.5%
85
+25 @ +5
14%
...
...
14.5%
...
...
15%
210 @ 225
-5 @ -15
16%
...
...

Year ago
...
...
...
45 @ 55
...
55 @ 65
...
85 @ 110
...

Wheat Futures
No. 1 Hard Amber Durum

$ per bu
Week's
change
Nov. 19 (cents) High
Kansas City
December 3.531/2 +43/4 3.60
March
3.483/4 +13/4 3.58
May
3.47
-1/4 3.571/2
July
3.44
+33/4 3.51
September 3.47
+4 3.55
Chicago
December 3.093/4
+7 3.201/2
March
3.193/4 +63/4 3.311/2
May
3.261/2
+7 3.371/2
July
3.331/4 +71/4 3.441/4
September 3.40
+8 3.491/2
Minneapolis
December 3.613/4 -43/4 3.74
March
3.641/2 -61/2 3.77
May
3.67
-6 3.79
July
3.68
-31/2 3.77
September 3.651/4 +23/4 3.69

Track, $ per bu
Low

Year
ago

3.48
3.47
3.47
3.40
3.43

3.841/4
3.891/2
3.811/2
3.593/4
3.62

3.001/2
3.11
3.193/4
3.27
3.33

3.831/4
3.961/4
3.86
3.541/2
3.581/2

3.60
3.64
3.67
3.68
3.64

3.971/2
4.03
4.033/4
3.86
3.69

Choice milling

Nov. 19
5.15

Week's
change
-

Year
ago
5.00

Exporter bids and offers
No. 1 Hard 11%, Track Gulf
Basis Kansas City future, cents per bu
For shipment
Bid
Offer
Year ago bid
November
88 over Dec.
... 70 over Dec.
December
86 over Dec.
... 70 over Dec.
January
78 over March 84 62 over March

No. 2 Soft Red, c.i.f. New Orleans
Basis Chicago future, cents per bu
For shipment
Bid
Offer
Year ago bid
November
90 over Dec.
95 57 over Dec.
December
82 over Dec.
85 57 over Dec.
January
67 over March 73 44 over March

Milling & Baking News, November 23, 2004 / 33
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Milling & Baking News - November 23, 2004

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