Portland Grain Review 05/17

May 17, 2016 Portland Price Trends 05-01-15 08-01-15 04-01-16 05-10-16 05-17-16 #1 SWW (bu) 6.20 5.67 5.14 5.30 5.48 White Club 7.70 6.42 5.34 5.50 5.68 DNS 14% 7.33 6.19 6.24 6.34 6.39 HRW 11.5% 6.07 5.60 5.52 5.33 5.43 #2 Corn (ton) 153.00 160.00 153.00 163.00 169.00 #2 Barley 140.00 159.00 140.00 145.00 145.00 Wheat...Early-strength in Chicago futures moved white wheat prices to the $5.50 mark today, setting a five-month high. Nearby basis did pull back about a nickel but remain 20 cents stronger than early May and well above the ten-year average for mid-May. Japan is in the market this week seeking U.S., Canadian and Australian wheat. Shipments...Weekly export inspections showed total US wheat shipments down slightly from the prior week, registering 13.5 mb to place current year loadings at 708 mb and 12% behind a year ago. Top shipper for the week was hard red spring wheat with 5.6 mb, which included 2.2 mb loaded off the west coast for China. Hard red winter recorded 4 mb in shipments and white wheat recorded 1.8 mb loaded mostly for Japan and Thailand. Crop Progress...Recent near-ideal weather continues to bolster winter wheat conditions across the Pacific Northwest. The three-state index now stands at 106% of the five-year average and near the high end of ranges for the middle of May of the past twenty years. Good to exellent scores for Idaho sets at 88%, Washington at 81% and Oregon at 63%. Montana saw that category climb a point over the past week to 64%. U.S. ratings for winter wheat stand at 121% of the five-year average and a full standard deviation above the twenty-year average. -Norm Ruhoff Extension Economist University of Idaho CALS-AERS Copyright 2016 DTN/Telvent. All Rights Reserved.