Portland Grain Review 03/19

March 19, 2020 Portland Price Trends 03-01-19 08-01-19 02-01-20 03-12-20 03-19-20 #1 SWW (bu) 6.10 5.90 6.25 5.85 5.95 White Club 6.10 5.90 7.75 7.35 7.45 DNS 14% 6.68 5.98 7.08 6.84 6.95 HRW 11.5% 6.00 5.36 6.17 5.83 6.15 #2 Corn (ton) 180.00 170.00 175.00 169.00 161.00 #2 Barley 140.00 140.00 140.00 135.00 135.00 Wheat...A surge in wheat futures provided a boost to west coast wheat markets today. White wheat basis was defensive against gains in Chicago while both hard red winter and springs saw basis hold mostly steady. Weekly Sales...USDA reported a more subdued pace of export demand for U.S. wheat last week, coming in 20% below last week at 12.4 mb. Current year commitments now stand at 881 mb, which is 4% above mid-March a year ago and 6% ahead of the five-year average pace. Top seller for the week was hard red spring with 4.7 mb and with 261 mb on the books sets at 10% above a year ago and 4% above average. Hard red winter garnered 3.9 mb, setting at 326 mb which is 10% ahead of a year ago and 11% above average. White wheat registered 2.4 mb for the week and with 177 mb in commitments sets 5% behind a year ago but 9% ahead of average. Top Buyers...Mexico took top-buyer honors last week with 3 mb in new commitments, followed by Japan with 2.3 mb. The Philippines and Nigeria both took 1.9 mb and Indonesia rounded-out the top five with 1.3 mb. -Norm Ruhoff Contributing Analyst Copyright 2020 DTN/Telvent. All Rights Reserved.