Canola futures edged higher on Friday as grain markets stabilized after losses Thursday.
November canola closed at $554.40 per tonne, up 90 cents on the day. The contract rose $4.20 per tonne on the week or 0.8 percent.
Spring wheat futures rallied strongly on more reports of disappointing yields in North Dakota.
Soybeans were supported by thoughts that rain forecast for the weekend in the Midwest might be less than anticipated.
Illinois, the second largest soybean producer in the U.S., has been dry for several weeks.
Worries that the U.S. and Europe are close to falling back into recession limited gains. North American stock markets fell more than one percent on Friday on the economic uncertainty.
The U.S. dollar fell against many currencies, giving support to corn, soybeans and wheat on U.S. exchanges.
• Reuters polled 20 traders and analysts about Canadian crops. The range of forecast for canola is 12.9 to 14.8 million tonnes with an average of 13.6 million. Agriculture’s Canada’s forecast posted earlier this month is 13.4 million. Last year, the crop was 11.87 million.
The average of analysts’ forecasts for all wheat is 23.5 million tonnes, up from AgCanada’s forecast of 23 million and last year’s 23.17 million.
The average of forecasts for durum is 3.7 million tonnes, down from AgCanada’s forecast of 3.8 million but up from last year’s 3.03 million.
Barley is forecast at 8.3 million compared to AgCanada’s 7.9 million and last year’s 7.6 million.
Oats is seen at 2.9 million tonnes compared to AgCanada’s 2.9 million and last year’s 2.3 million
Flax is seen at 550,000 tonnes compared to AgCanada’s 500,000 and last year’s 423,000
Peas are seen at 2.15 million tonnes compared to AgCanada’s 2.125 million and last year’s 2.86 million.
Statistics Canada will issue its production outlook, based on producer surveys, on Aug. 24.
• Canola futures were supported by the slow pace of deliveries as harvest picks up speed. A period of warm, dry weather is expected to begin Saturday and continue the following week.
• The Canadian Oilseed Processors Association said members crushed 110,379 tonnes of canola in the week ending Aug. 17, down four percent from the week before.
Winnipeg (per tonne)
Canola Nov 11 $554.40, up $0.90
Canola Jan 12 $562.80, up $0.90
Canola Mar 12 $570.80, up $1.00
Canola May 12 $577.90, up $1.30
The previous day’s best basis was $10.00 under the November contract according to ICE Futures Canada in Winnipeg.
The November contract’s 14-day Relative Strength Index was 48. The rule of thumb is an RSI of 30 indicates an over sold market and 70 indicates an over bought market.
Western Barley Oct 11 $199, unchanged
Chicago (per bushel)
Soybeans Sep 11 $13.5975, up 7.75 cents
Soybeans Nov 11 $13.685, up 7.5
Soybeans Jan 12 $13.7875, up 7.0
Corn Sep 11 $7.11, up 12.0
Corn Dec 11 $7.2525, up 12.25
Oats Sep 11 $3.485, up 6.0
Oats Dec 11 $3.575, up 4.5
Minneapolis (per bushel)
Spring Wheat Sep 11 $9.4525, up 34.5 cents
Spring Wheat Dec 11 $9.2075, up 28.0
Spring Wheat Mar 12 $9.24, up 31.0
Light crude oil nearby futures in New York fell 12 cents to $82.26 US per barrel.
The Canadian dollar at noon was $1.0153 US, up from $1.0100 the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was 98.49 cents Cdn.
The Toronto Stock Exchange composite index in a preliminary tally ended down 179.24 points, or 1.5 percent, at 12,007.47. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 17.12 points, or 1.5 percent, to finish unofficially at 1,123.53.
For the week, the TSX lost 4.3 percent and the S&P 500 lost 4.7 percent.
