Crop futures were uppity on Wednesday, resisting the omnipresent weakness in other commodity and equity markets.
New crop canola futures gained as both part of the overall crops rally and as fears of a prairie frost for tonight trickled through the markets.
November canola futures rose $11.60 per tonne to $559.40 while July rose $4.80 to $647.30.
Both corn and soybean futures were 10 to 20 cents per bushel higher, showing a greater relative strength for corn. Among the wheats, Chicago soft red winter wheat was the strongest, Kansas City hard red winter saw only half the gains and spring wheat Minneapolis futures were virtually flat.
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The up day for almost all crops follows days of weakness in the crop markets, as U.S. and prairie crops have hurled themselves into the fields with an alacrity that has surprised even the most informed analysts.
The fears of smaller acreages and too-late maturity dates for major parts of North American crops have receded and now the markets are looking at a crop that might even reach near-normal development status within a couple of weeks.
The alleviation of the fear about late seeding and late-season damage has allowed the new crop markets to slip, but old crop markets have stayed relatively strong as buyers realize there’s little crop anywhere left to buy.
World stock markets fell after the minutes of the most recent U.S. federal reserve meeting were released revealing that some of the governors favoured backing away from the bank’s grotesque distortions of markets far before most analysts, traders and economists had been expecting the Fed to be considering the mood.
Without aggressive purchasing of debt by the Fed, what’s to keep the markets up, thought some. That led to falling share prices and a sell-off in industrial commodities as investors pared back their bets on a continuation of economic growth.
Winnipeg ICE Futures Canada dollars per tonne
Canola Jul 2013 647.30 +4.80 +0.75%
Canola Nov 2013 559.40 +11.60 +2.12%
Canola Jan 2014 560.80 +11.60 +2.11%
Canola Mar 2014 556.20 +10.20 +1.87%
Canola May 2014 549.90 +9.30 +1.72%
Milling Wheat Jul 2013 294.00 unch 0.00%
Milling Wheat Oct 2013 294.00 unch 0.00%
Milling Wheat Dec 2013 294.00 unch 0.00%
Durum Wheat Jul 2013 301.90 unch 0.00%
Durum Wheat Oct 2013 294.90 unch 0.00%
Durum Wheat Dec 2013 299.40 unch 0.00%
Barley Jul 2013 244.00 unch 0.00%
Barley Oct 2013 194.00 unch 0.00%
Barley Dec 2013 199.00 unch 0.00%
American crop prices in cents US/bushel, soybean meal in $US/short ton, soy oil in cents US/pound
Chicago
Soybeans Jul 2013 1494.25 +16 +1.08%
Soybeans Aug 2013 1405.5 +15.25 +1.10%
Soybeans Nov 2013 1238.75 +18 +1.47%
Soybeans Jan 2014 1245.25 +17.75 +1.45%
Soybeans Mar 2014 1249 +17 +1.38%
Soybean Meal Jul 2013 440.6 +1.9 +0.43%
Soybean Meal Aug 2013 410.4 +3.7 +0.91%
Soybean Meal Sep 2013 381.3 +5.2 +1.38%
Soybean Oil Jul 2013 49.64 +0.16 +0.32%
Soybean Oil Aug 2013 49.49 +0.21 +0.43%
Soybean Oil Sep 2013 49.26 +0.22 +0.45%
Corn Jul 2013 658.5 +18.5 +2.89%
Corn Sep 2013 559.75 +13 +2.38%
Corn Dec 2013 530.5 +10.25 +1.97%
Corn Mar 2014 541 +9.75 +1.84%
Corn May 2014 549 +9.75 +1.81%
Oats Jul 2013 366.5 +11.5 +3.24%
Oats Sep 2013 356.75 +8.25 +2.37%
Oats Dec 2013 355.5 +6.5 +1.86%
Oats Mar 2014 360.75 +7.25 +2.05%
Oats May 2014 363 +7.25 +2.04%
Wheat Jul 2013 688.5 +8 +1.18%
Wheat Sep 2013 695.75 +7.75 +1.13%
Wheat Dec 2013 710.5 +7 +1.00%
Wheat Mar 2014 727 +7 +0.97%
Wheat May 2014 734 +7 +0.96%
Minneapolis
Spring Wheat Jul 2013 807.75 -5.75 -0.71%
Spring Wheat Sep 2013 797.25 +0.25 +0.03%
Spring Wheat Dec 2013 803.75 +1.25 +0.16%
Spring Wheat Mar 2014 814.75 unch 0.00%
Spring Wheat May 2014 819 -0.75 -0.09%
Kansas City
KCBT Red Wheat Jul 2013 743.25 +4.75 +0.64%
KCBT Red Wheat Sep 2013 751 +5.5 +0.74%
KCBT Red Wheat Dec 2013 766.25 +6 +0.79%
KCBT Red Wheat May 2014 783 +6 +0.77%
Light crude oil nearby futures in New York down $1.90 at $94.28 US per barrel.
The Canadian dollar at noon was 96.78 cents US, down from 97.30 cents the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was $1.0333 Cdn.
