Canola little changed over week as market awaits StatsCan report

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Published: December 2, 2016

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Canola futures closed the week on an up note after spending much of the morning slightly lower on loonie strength.

The January contract closed up $1.60 or 0.3 percent on the day.

For the week, the contract rose just $1.10 or 0.2 percent.

Canola held steady this week even as the trade, on average, forecasts Statistics Canada next week will peg the crop at a record 18.8 million tonnes, up from 18.38 million last year.

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(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

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As the harvest in southern Alberta presses on, a broker said that is one of the factors pulling feed prices lower in the region. Darcy Haley, vice-president of Ag Value Brokers in Lethbridge, added that lower cattle numbers in feedlots, plentiful amounts of grass for cattle to graze and a lacklustre export market also weighed on feed prices.

CLICK HERE for more on the production forecast

The StatsCan report this year, issued Tuesday, will dogged by the fact that the survey was conducted in late October and early November when a lot of grain was still out in the field.

ALBERTA CROP REPORT

As of Nov. 29, Alberta producers combined 90 percent of all crops, with seven percent in swath and three percent standing. These will likely be left until the spring.

About 13 percent of canola has not been combined and 23 percent of oats are still out.

Close to 10 percent of spring wheat and barley remains and seven percent of the flax is still out. The northeast region is the most behind.

CRUSH IS STRONG

Crushers processed 187,745 tonnes of canola in the week ending Nov. 30, up 3.8 percent from the week before.

That represented almost 88 percent of capacity and matched the capacity use to date this crop year.

The total crushed to date is 3.047 million tonnes, up about 15 percent over last year. That is a record pace.

EXPORTS

Canola bulk exports in the week to Nov. 27 were 182,800 tonnes, down from 251,400 tonnes the week before, Canadian Grain Commission figures show.

To date 3.05 million tonnes of canola have been shipped, down 5.7 percent from 3.23 million last year

All wheat bulk exports in the week were 355,100 tonnes, up from 238,800 tonnes.

To date, wheat exports stand at 4.72 million, down 19 percent from 5.845 million last year.

U.S. CROP MARKETS

There was little movement in the soybean complex today.

Chicago wheat bounced a little higher today after a bad week where prices slid down on forecasts of a larger than expected Australian wheat crop. Kansas wheat also rose today, but Minneapolis spring wheat was little changed.

Corn edged higher.

Crude oil rose for a third day but the gain was just over one percent as the trade tried to figure out the true impact of the agreement by OPEC, Russia and possibly others to cut about one percent of global production.

News of the agreement sparked a one weekly rally that was the largest since August 2015.

EMPLOYMENT REPORTS

Canada’s economy added 10,700 jobs in November and the jobless rate fell to 6.8 percent. However that was the result of losing 8,700 full time jobs and gaining 19,400 part time jobs.

The report was slightly better than expected but did little to alter the expectation that the Bank of Canada will leave interest rates unchanged at its meeting this month.

In the U.S., the economy added 178,000 jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 4.6 percent. The jobs report was about what the trade had expected and reinforced the expectation that the U.S. Federal Reserve will increase interest rates this month.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index rose 24.99 points, or 0.17 percent, at 15,052.52.

The Dow Jones industrial average today fell 21.5 points, or 0.11 percent, to 19,170.42, the S&P 500 gained 0.87 point, or 0.04 percent, to 2,191.95 and the Nasdaq Composite added 4.55 points, or 0.09 percent, to 5,255.65.

For the week, the TSX fell 0.15 percent, the Dow gained 0.1 percent, the S&P 500 fell one percent and the Nasdaq dropped 2.7 percent.

Light crude oil nearby futures in New York rose 62 cents to US$51.68 per barrel.

The Canadian dollar at noon was US75.20 cents, up from 75.01 cents the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was C$1.3298.

 

Winnipeg ICE Futures Canada dollars per tonne

Canola Jan 17   529.30s   +1.60   +0.30%

Canola Mar 17   535.90s   +1.60   +0.30%

Canola May 17   540.90s   +2.50   +0.46%

Canola Jul 17   541.40s   +3.10   +0.58%

Canola Nov 17   512.40s   +2.20   +0.43%

 

Milling Wheat Dec 16   235.00   -1.00   -0.42%

Milling Wheat Mar 17   239.00   unch   unch

Milling Wheat May 17   241.00   unch   unch

 

Durum Wheat Dec 16   315.00   unch   unch

Durum Wheat Mar 17   323.00   unch unch

Durum Wheat May 17   326.00   unch   unch

 

Barley Dec 16   138.00   unch   unch

Barley Mar 17   142.00   unch   unch

Barley May 17   144.00   unch   unch

 

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

 

Chicago

Soybeans Jan 2017   1027.50   -2.25   -0.22%

Soybeans Mar 2017   1037.25   -1.75   -0.17%

Soybeans May 2017   1044.50   -1.00   -0.10%

Soybeans Jul 2017   1049.25   -1.00   -0.10%

Soybeans Aug 2017   1045.75   -0.75   -0.07%

Soybeans Sep 2017 1029.00   +0.50   +0.05%

 

Soybean Meal Dec 2016   310.70   -0.20   -0.06%

Soybean Meal Jan 2017   312.50   -0.20   -0.06%

Soybean Meal Mar 2017   315.60   unch   0.00%

 

Soybean Oil Dec 2016   37.51   -0.13   -0.35%

Soybean Oil Jan 2017   37.72   -0.13   -0.34%

Soybean Oil Mar 2017   37.99   -0.13   -0.34%

 

Corn Dec 2016   337.50   +5.75   +1.73%

Corn Mar 2017   347.25   +4.75   +1.39%

Corn May 2017   354.25   +4.25   +1.21%

Corn Jul 2017   361.75   +4.00   +1.12%

Corn Sep 2017   369.00   +3.50   +0.96%

 

Oats Dec 2016   200.25   unch   0.00%

Oats Mar 2017   214.50   -0.75   -0.35%

Oats May 2017   218.50   -0.75   -0.34%

Oats Jul 2017   219.25   -1.00   -0.45%

Oats Sep 2017   224.25   -0.25   -0.11%

 

Wheat Dec 2016   387.50   +16.00   +4.31%

Wheat Mar 2017   404.25   +8.75   +2.21%

Wheat May 2017   417.00   +8.25   +2.02%

Wheat Jul 2017   431.00   +7.00   +1.65%

Wheat Sep 2017   446.25   +6.25   +1.42%

 

Minneapolis

Spring Wheat Dec 2016   543.00   +2.00   +0.37%

Spring Wheat Mar 2017   538.50   unch   0.00%

Spring Wheat May 2017   540.00   -0.75   -0.14%

Spring Wheat Jul 2017   542.75   -0.75   -0.14%

Spring Wheat Sep 2017   548.75   -1.00   -0.18%

 

Kansas City

Hard Red Wheat Dec 2016   390.00   +6.00   +1.56%

Hard Red Wheat Mar 2017   408.75   +5.75   +1.43%

Hard Red Wheat May 2017   420.50   +5.50   +1.33%

Hard Red Wheat Jul 2017   432.50   +6.00   +1.41%

Hard Red Wheat Sep 2017   447.25   +6.00   +1.36%

 

Chicago livestock futures in US¢/pound (rounded to two decimal places)

Live Cattle (P) Dec 2016   108.22   -2.36   -2.13%

Live Cattle (P) Feb 2017   108.88   -2.50   -2.24%

Live Cattle (P) Apr 2017   109.05   -2.18   -1.96%

 

Feeder Cattle (P) Jan 2017   124.60   -3.18   -2.49%

Feeder Cattle (P) Mar 2017   121.52   -2.73   -2.20%

Feeder Cattle (P) Apr 2017   121.25   -2.78   -2.24%

 

Lean Hogs (P) Dec 2016   50.75   +0.52   +1.04%

Lean Hogs (P) Feb 2017   54.02   -0.05   -0.09%

Lean Hogs (P) Apr 2017   60.15   -0.30   -0.50%

About the author

D'Arce McMillan

Markets editor, Saskatoon newsroom

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