Canola futures settled lower on Wednesday after posting gains early in the day.
Lightly traded May closed at $631.50, down $7.20.
Most traded July closed at $626.50, down $5.60.
New crop November finished at $583.70, down 30 cents.
Almost all of the trade is occurring in the July and November contracts.
For the past couple of days the market has been narrowing the large inverse between old and new crop.
A lack of farmer selling supported canola but on the other hand the expectation of a record crop is putting downward pressure on prices.
But cropping expectations in eastern Saskatchewan are getting worrisome again as recent rains build up on soil already saturated from last year’s excess moisture.
Rain is expected again in coming days, adding to the moisture excess in the eastern part of the province.
Canola prices on Wednesday were also pressured by lower soybeans. Funds hold record net long positions in soybeans and are liquidating some of those holdings.
Oilseeds were also pressured by sharp decreases in wheat and corn.
Wheat fell hard as an industry tour of the hard red winter wheat area is showing crop conditions in northern and central Kansas indicate record yield potential. Later in the day as scouts moved into southern and western Kansas the yield outlooks were not as optimistic. They will produce an average final estimate for the crop on Thursday afternoon.
Chicago wheat fell 4.1 percent during the day.
Corn was under pressure from early seeding and good moisture prospects in the Midwest.
The next 10 days are expected to be wet in the U.S. Midwest, slowing the pace of seeding, but providing good moisture for crop development.
Winnipeg (per tonne)
Canola May 12 $631.50, down 7.20 -1.13%
Canola Jul 12 $626.50, down 5.60 -0.89%
Canola Nov 12 $583.70, down 0.30 -0.05%
Canola Jan 13 $587.80, down 0.90 -0.15%
The previous trading day’s best basis in the par region jumped up to +$10.60 over and the contract month moved to July, said ICE Futures Canada.
The 14-day relative strength index was 70.
Western Barley May 12 $242.00, unchanged
Western Barley Jul 12 $237.00, unchanged
Milling Wheat Oct 12 $248.00, down 4.00 -1.59%
Milling Wheat Dec 12 $253.00, down 4.00 -1.56%
Milling Wheat Mar 13 $262.00, down 5.00 -1.87%
Durum Wheat Oct 12 $277.50, unchanged
Durum Wheat Dec 12 $282.00, unchanged
Durum Wheat Mar 13 $288.60, unchanged
Barley Oct 12 $184.50, unchanged
Barley Dec 12 $187.50, unchanged
Barley Mar 13 $189.00, unchanged
Chicago (per bushel)
Soybeans May 12 $14.80, down 17.75 cents -1.19%
Soybeans Jul 12 $14.85, down 18.5 -1.23%
Soybeans Nov 12 $13.6825, down 24.25 -1.74%
Corn May 12 $6.4225, down 17.5 -2.65%
Corn Jul 12 $6.115, down 17.5 -2.78%
Corn Dec 12 $5.31, down 7.75 -1.44%
Oats May 12 $3.3025, down 6.0 -1.78%
Oats Jul 12 $3.3675, down 8.5 -2.46%
Oats Dec 12 $3.475, down 4.5 -1.28%
Minneapolis (per bushel)
Spring Wheat May 12 $7.445, down 22.5 cents -2.93%
Spring Wheat Jul 12 $7.51, down 23.25 -3.00%
Spring Wheat Sep 12 $7.5075, down 24.0 -3.10%
Spring Wheat Dec 12 $7.5525, down 22.5 -2.89%
The nearby New York light sweet crude contract fell 94 cents to $105.22 US.
The Canadian dollar noon rate is $1.0110 US, down from $1.0164 the day before.
The U.S. dollar at noon was 98.91 Cdn.
Stock markets were down on news of weak employment in the U.S. in April and a disappointing measure of European economic activity.
The ADP National Employment Report said U.S. private employers added 119,000 jobs in April, well short of expectations for 177,000.
Maple Leaf shares were hit hard when it posted weaker than expected quarterly profits. This time it was the bread side of its business that performed poorly. Chief executive Michael McCain said bread consumption is down, citing dietary trends, demographic shifts and more cost-conscious consumers.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index unofficially finished down 102.67 points, or 0.8 percent, to 12,230.12.
The Dow Jones industrial average dipped 9.57 points, or 0.07 percent, to 13,269.75.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 2.48 points, or 0.18 percent, to 1,403.34.
The Nasdaq Composite Index added 10.78 points, or 0.35 percent, to 3,061.22.