Canola closes lower on stronger loonie

Canola futures slipped lower at the close in light trade after gains early in the day.Domestic crusher buying had supported prices, as did stronger crude oil prices. But the market weakened late on the strength of the Canadian dollar and elevator hedge selling.The loonie gained against the U.S. dollar, as did other currencies, after the central bank in Australia raised interest rates by 25 basis points. Expectations are that the U.S. Federal Reserve will announce measures to increase the money supply at the close of its meeting Wednesday.Soybeans, corn and wheat in Chicago all fell, weighed down by word of improved moisture conditions in South America, profit taking, nervousness about what the Fed will actually do and the fact Egypt bought no American wheat in a recent tender.U.S. winter wheat conditions slipped lower last week, with the good-to-excellent rating falling to 46 percent from 47 percent the week before.In Winnipeg, November canola fell $1.30 per tonne to $533.70 on 159 trades. The contract is in delivery mode.The January contract fell $2.30 to $540.20 on 5,457 trades.The previous day’s best basis widened to $25.13 per tonne under the November contract in the par region, according to the Winnipeg ICE Futures daily report.We have changed our 14-day Relative Strength Index calculation to the one used by Reuters and others, which appears to be a more commonly used figure. The November contract RSI was 79. The rule of thumb is an RSI of 30 indicates an over sold market and 70 indicates an over bought market.December barley futures rose $185.50 per tonne on 12 trades. March was unchanged at $185.Chicago new crop November soybeans fell 1.5 cents to $12.2375 US per bushel. January fell one cent to $12.34.December corn fell 1.5 cents to $5.7575 per bu. December oats fell one cent to $3.62 per bu. March oats fell 2.5 cents to $3.73.In New York, crude oil for December delivery rose 95 cents to $83.90 per barrel. OPEC members are signaling they think oil prices could rise further. A Libyan spokesperson told Reuters oil could rise to $100 by the end of the year and Saudi Arabia’s oil minister said prices of $70 to $90 were comfortable for consumers.The Canadian dollar at noon was 99.02 cents, up from 98.66 cents the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was $1.0099.The TSX composite index rose 16.61 points to close at 12,681.42. The S&P 500 rose 9.18 points to close at 1,193.56.

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