On the final day of the year, March canola futures staged a late session rally, likely on year-end positioning, to post a second consecutive daily gain.
Earlier in the day, canola futures were down a little on profit taking after Monday’s substantial gains.
Lead month January settled at $439.90 per tonne, up $1.70 while most-traded March closed at $449.90, up $2.20.
Soy oil edged higher, partly on support from palm oil, which rose on better than expected monthly exports of Malaysian palm after a slow start to the month.
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Soybeans fell about one percent on good South American weather that promises record crops in Brazil and Argentina. Growing areas in both countries received rain this week.
That also weighed on corn futures, which fell.
Chicago wheat briefly dipped below $6 per bushel before edging slightly higher to close up 4.75 cents on short covering.
Concerns are mounting in the Prairie farm community about rail transport of grain, with inadequate capacity to move the record Canadian crop. The intense cold on the Prairies this week is not helping the situation.
Today CN Rail issued a notice on its website about the extreme cold affecting its operations from Edmonton to northern Ontario, and south to its U.S. gateway at Ranier, Minnesota.
“The CN winter operating plan remains in effect and our team is working to minimize delays to your shipments,” the notice said.
CN said it was taking several steps, including:
- Reduction of train length in the hardest-hit areas
- Implementation of cold weather detours where appropriate
- 7/24 engineering coverage
- Positioning of mechanical experts in key locations.
The bitter cold extends into the U.S., affecting barge traffic on rivers and presenting the possibility of winter kill in wheat that is not protected by a blanket of snow.
BIG CROPS CRASH PRICES
Soybean futures fell about seven percent on the year, canola fell about 26.9 percent, Chicago wheat is down about 22 percent and corn is down about 40 percent. Corn was the worst performer this year in the 24 commodities tracked in the Standard & Poor’s GSCI Spot Index.
Soybeans have been supported by strong demand for soy meal, but weakness in that feed has developed in recent days because of spill over pressure from distillers dried grain.
China recently rejected two cargos of DDGs from the United States because they detected content of a genetically modified corn variety not yet approved by Beijing.
That caused a sharp decline in DDG prices that is also pressuring soy meal, which competes in the animal protein feed market.
Looking ahead, some analysts are forecasting that corn prices could fall further especially if South America produces as much as forecasted.
“We’ll be down again next year, but not 40 percent. I think corn will fall to the $3.50 per bushel area so there is still nearly $1 per bushel excess in the deferred contracts,” said Art Liming, a futures specialist for Citigroup in a Reuters story.
Winnipeg ICE Futures Canada dollars per tonne
Canola Jan 2014 439.90 +1.70 +0.39%
Canola Mar 2014 449.90 +2.20 +0.49%
Canola May 2014 458.90 +2.10 +0.46%
Canola Jul 2014 467.60 +2.30 +0.49%
Canola Nov 2014 480.80 +2.10 +0.44%
Milling Wheat Mar 2014 185.00 +2.00 +1.09%
Milling Wheat May 2014 193.00 +2.00 +1.05%
Milling Wheat Jul 2014 197.00 +2.00 +1.03%
Durum Wheat Mar 2014 242.00 -1.00 -0.41%
Durum Wheat May 2014 246.00 -1.00 -0.40%
Durum Wheat Jul 2014 247.00 -1.00 -0.40%
Barley Mar 2014 146.00 unch 0.00%
Barley May 2014 148.00 unch 0.00%
Barley Jul 2014 148.00 unch 0.00%
American crop prices in cents US/bushel, soybean meal in $US/short ton, soy oil in cents US/pound
Chicago
Soybeans Jan 2014 1312.5 -15.75 -1.19%
Soybeans Mar 2014 1292.5 -16.25 -1.24%
Soybeans May 2014 1277 -15 -1.16%
Soybeans Jul 2014 1264.5 -14.25 -1.11%
Soybeans Aug 2014 1234.5 -12.75 -1.02%
Soybeans Sep 2014 1175.25 -12.5 -1.05%
Soybean Meal Jan 2014 437.7 -12.6 -2.80%
Soybean Meal Mar 2014 417 -10.1 -2.36%
Soybean Meal May 2014 407.6 -8.1 -1.95%
Soybean Oil Jan 2014 38.82 +0.2 +0.52%
Soybean Oil Mar 2014 39.13 +0.17 +0.44%
Soybean Oil May 2014 39.49 +0.15 +0.38%
Corn Mar 2014 422 -1.5 -0.35%
Corn May 2014 430.25 -1.5 -0.35%
Corn Jul 2014 437 -1.75 -0.40%
Corn Sep 2014 443.5 -1.25 -0.28%
Corn Dec 2014 450.25 -0.75 -0.17%
Oats Mar 2014 354.25 +0.5 +0.14%
Oats May 2014 325.25 -2.25 -0.69%
Oats Jul 2014 320 -1.25 -0.39%
Oats Sep 2014 312.25 -1.25 -0.40%
Oats Dec 2014 304.75 +0.25 +0.08%
Wheat Mar 2014 605.25 +4.75 +0.79%
Wheat May 2014 612 +4.5 +0.74%
Wheat Jul 2014 616.75 +4 +0.65%
Wheat Sep 2014 626.5 +4.25 +0.68%
Wheat Dec 2014 640.5 +4.5 +0.71%
Minneapolis
Spring Wheat Mar 2014 635.25 +5 +0.79%
Spring Wheat May 2014 645 +4.5 +0.70%
Spring Wheat Jul 2014 656.25 +4.75 +0.73%
Spring Wheat Sep 2014 666 +5.25 +0.79%
Spring Wheat Dec 2014 678.25 +4.5 +0.67%
Kansas City
KCBT Red Wheat Mar 2014 640.5 +4.75 +0.75%
KCBT Red Wheat May 2014 643 +4.75 +0.74%
KCBT Red Wheat Jul 2014 643.5 +3.25 +0.51%
KCBT Red Wheat Sep 2014 656 +2.75 +0.42%
KCBT Red Wheat Dec 2014 669.25 +2.25 +0.34%
The Bank of Canada’s noon rate for the Canadian dollar was 94.02 cents US, up 0.0004 of a cent from the previous day’s noon rate of 93.98 cents. The U.S. buck was $1.0636 Cdn.
Nearby crude oil futures in New York closed at $98.42 per barrel, down 87 cents.
The TSX composite was trading higher on Tuesday, set to post a nine percent gain on the year.
U.S. stock indexes performed much better in 2013 and posted record highs as investors rode the Federal Reserve’s extraordinary stimulus and the expectations for improved growth in a year that had only the slightest of hiccups.
The broad based S&P 500 rose 29.5 percent for the year, its best gain since 1997. The Dow climbed 26.3 percent, its best year since 1995.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq soared 38.1 percent for the year, its best annual performance since 2009.
