By D’Arce McMillan
Saskatoon newsroom
Disappointing U.S. soybean weekly exports weighed on oilseeds, including canola, but strong U.S. corn exports lifted that grain more than one percent.
Wheat rebounded from two days of losses on support from corn and continuing concern about dry soils in the U.S. hard red winter wheat region.
Some of Thursday’s trade was positioning in advance of the big U.S. Department of Agriculture reports on spring seeding intentions and quarterly stocks
Read Also
U.S. livestock: Hog futures hit contract highs on shock herd decline
Chicago | Reuters – Lean hog futures stormed to contract highs at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on Friday as smaller-than-expected…
Canola finished the day slightly higher, up just 60 cents per tonne in the May contract on speculative and end user buying. Improved grain movement in the past week is supporting canola price.
The stronger Canadian dollar today limited gains.
The USDA weekly export sales report put corn sales last week at 1.4 million tonnes, almost twice as much as the high end of what traders had expected.
Soybean export sales were 11,900 tonnes, almost as small as the marketing-year low posted in mid-February.
The slow pace indicates buyers have largely shifted their attention to Brazil. However, the rapid pace of exports in the first half of the U.S. marketing year means that prices will need to stay high enough to ration demand. Analysts expect the USDA’s stocks report on Monday will show U.S. soybean supply is very tight.
Wheat got support from the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor map that showed expanding drought conditions in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
Light rain is expected in central and eastern parts of hard red winter wheat country next week, but western areas are expected to remain dry.
Over the past week, the eastern coast of Australia has received rain. The moisture extended inland to agricultural zones, with some areas getting one to two inches
ICE Futures adjusted the milling wheat contract higher.
Winnipeg ICE Futures Canada dollars per tonne
Canola May 2014 458.80 +0.60 +0.13%
Canola Jul 2014 468.20 +0.60 +0.13%
Canola Nov 2014 484.40 +0.30 +0.06%
Canola Jan 2015 491.90 +0.30 +0.06%
Canola Mar 2015 499.20 +0.50 +0.10%
Milling Wheat May 2014 227.00 +3.00 +1.34%
Milling Wheat Jul 2014 225.00 +3.00 +1.35%
Milling Wheat Oct 2014 226.00 +3.00 +1.35%
Durum Wheat May 2014 250.00 unch 0.00%
Durum Wheat Jul 2014 250.00 unch 0.00%
Durum Wheat Oct 2014 252.00 unch 0.00%
Barley May 2014 130.50 unch 0.00%
Barley Jul 2014 128.50 unch 0.00%
Barley Oct 2014 128.50 unch 0.00%
American crop prices in cents US/bushel, soybean meal in $US/short ton, soy oil in cents US/pound
Chicago
Soybeans May 2014 1436.5 -3.5 -0.24%
Soybeans Jul 2014 1407 -3 -0.21%
Soybeans Aug 2014 1347.5 -1.25 -0.09%
Soybeans Sep 2014 1248.5 -2.75 -0.22%
Soybeans Nov 2014 1192.75 -0.5 -0.04%
Soybeans Jan 2015 1197.75 unch 0.00%
Soybean Meal May 2014 470.5 +1.4 +0.30%
Soybean Meal Jul 2014 454.6 +1.4 +0.31%
Soybean Meal Aug 2014 430.5 +1.1 +0.26%
Soybean Oil May 2014 40.43 -0.3 -0.74%
Soybean Oil Jul 2014 40.65 -0.31 -0.76%
Soybean Oil Aug 2014 40.62 -0.23 -0.56%
Corn May 2014 492 +7.5 +1.55%
Corn Jul 2014 496.25 +7 +1.43%
Corn Sep 2014 491.5 +5.5 +1.13%
Corn Dec 2014 488 +4 +0.83%
Corn Mar 2015 495.75 +4.25 +0.86%
Oats May 2014 406.75 +2.25 +0.56%
Oats Jul 2014 360 -1.75 -0.48%
Oats Sep 2014 340.75 +2.25 +0.66%
Oats Dec 2014 335 +2 +0.60%
Oats Mar 2015 332.75 +3 +0.91%
Wheat May 2014 710.5 +13.75 +1.97%
Wheat Jul 2014 714.5 +13.25 +1.89%
Wheat Sep 2014 722.25 +13.5 +1.90%
Wheat Dec 2014 732.25 +13 +1.81%
Wheat Mar 2015 738.75 +13 +1.79%
Minneapolis
Spring Wheat May 2014 754.25 +7.5 +1.00%
Spring Wheat Jul 2014 753 +8.5 +1.14%
Spring Wheat Sep 2014 756.5 +7.25 +0.97%
Spring Wheat Dec 2014 764.75 +8 +1.06%
Spring Wheat Mar 2015 770 +8.5 +1.12%
Kansas City
KC HRW Wheat May 2014 783.75 +12.5 +1.62%
KC HRW Wheat Jul 2014 784 +12.5 +1.62%
KC HRW Wheat Sep 2014 787.75 +12 +1.55%
KC HRW Wheat Dec 2014 795.25 +10.75 +1.37%
KC HRW Wheat Mar 2015 795.25 +9.25 +1.18%
Light crude oil nearby futures in New York rose $1.02 at $101.28 US per barrel.
The Canadian dollar at noon was 90.44 cents US, up from 89.74 cents the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was $1.1057 Cdn.
The U.S. economy grew a bit faster than previously estimated in the fourth quarter and new claims for jobless aid dropped to a near four-month low last week,
U.S. gross domestic product expanded at a 2.6 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said, up from the 2.4 percent pace it reported last month.
Concerns about the tension in Ukraine offset the positive effect of the economic data.
In late day trade, the TSX composite and the Dow Jones industrial were almost unchanged, the S&P 500 was down 0.13 percent and the Nasdaq was down about 0.47 percent.
