Portland Grain Review 03/09

March 9, 2023 Portland Price Trends 03-01-22 08-01-22 01-01-23 03-02-23 03-09-23 #1 SWW (bu) 11.25 9.00 8.55 8.15 7.60 White Club 12.75 9.00 9.05 8.15 7.60 DNS 14% 11.59 10.08 10.19 9.59 9.10 HRW 11.5% 11.83 10.00 10.08 9.67 9.21 #2 Corn (ton) 313.00 279.00 302.00 280.00 272.00 #2 Barley 260.00 235.00 250.00 250.00 250.00 Wheat...It was a rough and tumble week for west coast wheat markets, following along with the retreat across the futures complex. Soft white wheat bids slipped to the lowest level in nearly 2 years, dark northern spring marked the lowest level since July 2021 and hard red winter was flirting with the low water mark posted last August. USDA balance sheet updates showed no change in U.S. wheat carryout projections, and world stocks estimates actually declined from last month. Weekly Sales...Weekly export sales showed the recent retreat in U.S. wheat prices did little to stimulate demand, as total sales came in at just under 10 mb for the week. Year-to-date commitments of 639 mb sit 6% behind a year ago and 17% below the five-year average pace. The top seller was white wheat with 4 mb, putting sales at 161 mb which is 34% ahead of a year ago but 33% below average. Hard red winter registered 2.4 mb and with 174 mb in commitments, stands 36% behind a year ago and 10% below average. Hard red spring also booked 2.4 mb to put sales at 193 mb; 5% ahead of a year ago but 16% below average. China Buying...USDA revealed China was switched from "unkown" status to a designated buyer of white wheat, bringing year-to-date purchases of U.S wheat to 35 mb compared to 31 mb a year ago. Breaking purchases out by class: China has bought 24 mb of white wheat compared to 11 mb a year ago, no hard red winter compared to 7.2 a year ago, 4.8 mb of red spring compared to no purchases a year ago, and 5.8 mb of soft red winter this year compared to 13 mb a year ago. -Norm Ruhoff Contributing Analyst Copyright 2023 DTN/Telvent. All Rights Reserved.