Canola futures mixed but corn climbs on weather jitters

Canola futures closed mixed after trading down in the first half of the trading day and corn posted gains even as commodities generally struggled on Tuesday.

Old crop July canola fell 60 cents a tonne to closed at $526.30 and new crop November rose 90 cents to close at $530.

Falling soybean futures were a weight on canola as were generally favourable weather conditions in western Canada.

Central and western Saskatchewan were under a thunderstorm watch this afternoon while the Peace River region of Alberta was under a heavy rain warning with the potential for 50 to 70 millimetres of rain.

Read Also

Dryness, drought likely to persist says forecaster

As winter approaches, the dry conditions and drought across much of the Canadian Prairies and the United States Plains will likely persist, said Drew Lerner, meteorologist with World Weather Inc. in Overland Park, Kan.

Steady commercial demand supported canola, as did a falling Canadian dollar.

Crude oil and stock markets fell as traders wondered what the U.S. Federal Reserve, which is meeting today, would say about the potential to raise interest rates. Also investors worried about the coming vote in Britain on whether to leave the European Union. Polls show increasing support for an exit.

Corn climbed on weather jitters amid a hot spell in the Midwest, despite relatively strong crop condition ratings.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture late Monday rated 75 percent of the U.S. corn crop as good to excellent, unchanged from the previous week and above an average of analysts’ expectations for 74 percent.

However, rain is needed in parts of the eastern Midwest and the Mississippi River Delta.

“Forecasts are a little drier for the six-to-10 and 11-to-15-day outlooks. The warm temperatures over the entire Corn Belt are a concern,” said Dan Cekander, president of DC Analysis.

Soybean futures were mixed, with the nearby July higher on technical buying. But new crop November was down nearly one percent.

The USDA’s good-to-excellent rating for the U.S. soybean crop was at 74 percent, up from 72 percent a week earlier and 67 percent last year.

Wheat futures fell for a fourth straight session on seasonal harvest pressure and record-large global inventories.

The USDA said the U.S. winter wheat harvest was 11 percent complete as of Sunday, up from 2 percent the previous week.

The U.S. spring wheat crop good to excellent rating was 79 percent, the same as the week before and up from 70 percent last year at the same time.

The Australian government forecasts its wheat crop will reach 25.4 million tonnes, up from 24.5 million in the March estimate and 24.2 million produced last year. Rain accumulation is improving after a dry April.

ABARES forecast canola production at 3.24 million tonnes, from its previous estimate of 3.27 million tonnes.

If a La Nina develops in the Pacific it tends to deliver good moisture to eastern Australia.

Light crude oil nearby futures in New York were down 39 cents to US$48.49 per barrel.

The Canadian dollar at noon was US77.91 cents, down from 78.17 cents the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was C$1.2835.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index closed down 109.65 points, or 0.78 percent, at 13,884.23.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 56.29 points, or 0.32 percent, to 17,676.19, the S&P 500 dipped 3.66 points, or 0.18 percent, to 2,075.4 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 4.89 points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,843.55.

Winnipeg ICE Futures Canada dollars per tonne

Canola Jul 2016 526.30 -0.60 -0.11%

Canola Nov 2016 530.00 +0.90 +0.17%

Canola Jan 2017 534.40 +0.60 +0.11%

Canola Mar 2017 535.80 +0.10 +0.02%

Canola May 2017 537.00 -0.30 -0.06%

Milling Wheat Jul 2016 235.00 unch 0.00%

Milling Wheat Oct 2016 234.00 unch 0.00%

Durum Wheat Jul 2016 299.00 unch 0.00%

Durum Wheat Oct 2016 297.00 unch 0.00%

Barley Jul 2016 171.50 unch 0.00%

Barley Oct 2016 171.50 unch 0.00%

American crop prices in cents US/bushel, soybean meal in $US/short ton, soy oil in cents US/pound

Chicago

Soybeans Jul 2016 1169.50 +0.50 +0.04%

Soybeans Aug 2016 1166.00 -3.00 -0.26%

Soybeans Sep 2016 1155.75 -7.00 -0.60%

Soybeans Nov 2016 1149.25 -9.75 -0.84%

Soybeans Jan 2017 1146.00 -10.25 -0.89%

Soybeans Mar 2017 1105.00 -10.50 -0.94%

Soybean Meal Jul 2016 408.60 +0.20 +0.05%

Soybean Meal Aug 2016 405.40 -3.00 -0.73%

Soybean Meal Sep 2016 404.20 -4.20 -1.03%

Soybean Oil Jul 2016 32.52 +0.01 +0.03%

Soybean Oil Aug 2016 32.67 +0.02 +0.06%

Soybean Oil Sep 2016 32.81 +0.02 +0.06%

Corn Jul 2016 436.50 +6.50 +1.51%

Corn Sep 2016 441.75 +6.25 +1.44%

Corn Dec 2016 446.50 +6.50 +1.48%

Corn Mar 2017 451.00 +5.75 +1.29%

Corn May 2017 453.50 +5.25 +1.17%

Oats Jul 2016 206.50 +1.25 +0.61%

Oats Sep 2016 217.00 +0.75 +0.35%

Oats Dec 2016 224.75 -2.25 -0.99%

Oats Mar 2017 237.50 -0.50 -0.21%

Oats May 2017 237.50 -0.50 -0.21%

Wheat Jul 2016 485.00 -6.25 -1.27%

Wheat Sep 2016 497.75 -5.50 -1.09%

Wheat Dec 2016 518.25 -5.00 -0.96%

Wheat Mar 2017 538.00 -4.75 -0.88%

Wheat May 2017 549.75 -5.00 -0.90%

Minneapolis

Spring Wheat Jul 2016 532.75 -7.50 -1.39%

Spring Wheat Sep 2016 543.25 -6.75 -1.23%

Spring Wheat Dec 2016 558.50 -6.75 -1.19%

Spring Wheat Mar 2017 572.50 -6.75 -1.17%

Spring Wheat May 2017 580.00 -6.75 -1.15%

Kansas City

Hard Red Wheat Jul 2016 458.50 -2.25 -0.49%

Hard Red Wheat Sep 2016 476.50 -1.75 -0.37%

Hard Red Wheat Dec 2016 501.25 -1.75 -0.35%

Hard Red Wheat Mar 2017 517.25 -1.50 -0.29%

Hard Red Wheat May 2017 527.75 -1.50 -0.28%

Live Cattle (P) Jun 2016 119.05 -0.40 -0.33%

Live Cattle (P) Aug 2016 115.00 +0.65 +0.57%

Live Cattle (P) Oct 2016 114.85 +1.05 +0.92%

Feeder Cattle (P) Aug 2016 142.15 +1.10 +0.78%

Feeder Cattle (P) Sep 2016 140.92 +1.22 +0.87%

Feeder Cattle (P) Oct 2016 139.45 +1.30 +0.94%

Lean Hogs (P) Jun 2016 81.68 -0.14 -0.17%

Lean Hogs (P) Jul 2016 88.08 +1.98 +2.30%

Lean Hogs (P) Aug 2016 89.32 +1.49 +1.70%

Your reading list