Growing Demand With Beef

This is Matt Rice with the Market Line Report for May 18th. Demand up in cattle as we get to the halfway point this week. Let's check in with Virginia McGathey as she explains more from the floor of the CME in Chicago.

McGathey "Tuesday in the cattle market has a little bit of a mixed bag. Right now, beef prices have been relatively strong but the live cattle futures have been holding steady in a channel for about the last 7 sessions, still on the strong side. With the wholesale prices really surging and holding the market in place, we are looking for more demand on the horizon. Wet and cold weather in the north in the US has kind of held some of the demand up. But once that weather starts to lift, we are going to expect that there's going to be much more surging demand at the grocery store and that should bode well for livestock market to really get that going."

Chicago July Wheat prices were up 7, at 482. July corn ended the day up 3, at 397 ¾. Portland prices for soft white wheat of 10 ½ % protein for May were up ¼ to 1 ¾, ranging from 5-50 to 5-51 ¾. Hard Red Winter wheat with 11 ½ % protein, prices for May were up 4 ¼, ranging from 5-32 ¾ to 5-39 ¾. DNS wheat with 14 % protein, prices for May were up 2, ranging from 6-19 ¼ to 6-44 ¼. June Live Cattle closed the day up 30 cents, at 123.30. May Feeder cattle were up 87 ½ cents, at 149.57 ½. May class III milk was up a penny at, 12-75.