Portland Grain Review 08/18

August 18, 2020 Portland Price Trends 08-01-19 01-01-20 07-01-20 08-11-20 08-18-20 #1 SWW (bu) 5.90 6.15 5.80 5.50 5.45 White Club 5.90 7.65 6.30 5.90 5.85 DNS 14% 5.98 7.21 6.57 6.09 6.19 HRW 11.5% 5.36 6.26 5.83 5.60 5.68 #2 Corn (ton) 170.00 172.00 162.00 147.00 154.00 #2 Barley 140.00 140.00 130.00 130.00 130.00 Wheat...West coast wheat markets continue to reflect multi-year lows in nearby prices, with white wheat seeing defensive basis levels against good crop prospects. Spot white wheat basis broke below the 40 over mark versus Chicago, down 25 cents over the past week and setting at half the ten-year average for mid-August. USDA projects a 10% increase in U.S. white wheat stocks, putting the stocks-to-use ratio near 40% and at the high end of a 25 year range. Crop Progress...Pacific Northwest wheat harvest remains in high gear as producers work through record-setting heat. Winter wheat harvest for Idaho picked up 25% of the crop last week, but sets 17% behind average with 60% in the bin. Oregon is about on average pace at 88% complete and Washington is 7% behind average at 73% cut. Most areas are reporting "bumper" crops being harvested with good quality and lower protein. Shipments...Weekly export inspections showed a big week for soft white wheat movement, coming in at 6.3 mb. Major destinations off the west coast included Japan with 4.9 mb, Sri Lanka at 2.4 mb, Thailand with 2.2 mb and Yemen taking 1.7 mb. Hard red winter shipments off all ports totaled 5.7 mb and hard red spring registered 4.4 mb. -Norm Ruhoff Contributing Analyst Copyright 2020 DTN/Telvent. All Rights Reserved.