A weaker U.S. dollar helped soybeans rally on Friday, but the increase was muted in the canola market by the stronger loonie and farmer selling.
For the week, March canola was down 1.1 percent, but for all of February it was up 1.2 percent.
March canola futures on Wednesday rose 50 cents to $378.40 per tonne on 968 trades. The previous day’s best basis narrowed to -$3.65 per tonne according to the Winnipeg ICE Futures daily report.
May rose 60 cents to $388.60 on 6,856 trades. New crop November rose $1 to $402.80 per tonne on 1,002 trades.
Worries about economic recovery pushed investors into the safe haven of the U.S. dollar on Thursday, but on Friday, the U.S. reported stronger than expected gross domestic product growth for the fourth quarter and investors sifted back to riskier products such as commodities. There was also stronger than expected growth in Britain and in industrial output in Japan.
The Canadian dollar at noon Friday was 95 cents US, up from 93.68 cents at noon the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was $1.0526 Cdn.
The Winnipeg March barley contract rose $1 to $144 per tonne with no trades. May rose $1 to $148 on 60 trades.
March soybeans rose 9.5 cents to $9.51 US per bushel. November soybeans rose 11.5 cents to $9.41 per bu.
March oats settled at $2.21 per bu., up 1.25 cents.
Light crude oil in New York for April delivery settled at $79.66 US per barrel, up $1.49 from the previous close.
The Canadian Oilseed Crushers Association reported that to Feb. 24 members had crushed 91,672 tonnes of canola, down almost nine percent from the previous week when it topped 100,000 tonnes.
The crush capacity use rate was 71.3 percent, down from 76.9 percent the week before.
Harvest of Brazil’s soybean crop picked up pace in the last week. Mato Grosso, the top producing state, has now harvested about half of its seeded acreage. As its crop becomes available, the focus of soybean trade will shift to South America from the United States.
Large speculators reversed their net short position in Chicago corn futures and took a net long position as worries grew about the snow blanket in the Midwest and the potential for the thaw to create wet fields.
Funds hold big short positions in wheat and are long in soybeans.
