Canola futures rose Friday, supported by stronger soybeans, capping a week where crop prices bounced back strongly after a month long fall.
November canola closed at $538 per tonne, up $2.70 or 0.5 percent. Farmer selling has slowed down, leading to reduced grain company hedging. A stronger loonie limited the day’s gains. The basis narrowed today, perhaps adding weight to talk that China had made a new canola purchase.
The contract rose $19.40 per tonne or 3.7 percent since the close Oct. 7.
November soybeans rose 9.6 percent on the week, December corn rose 6.7 percent, December oats rose 5.9 percent and Minneapolis spring wheat fell 2.9 percent
Friday was generally a positive day for commodities and equities with traders buoyed by indications that Europe is getting serious about tackling its debt problems.
Finance ministers and central bank chiefs from the Group of 20 countries began two days of talks in Paris, which investors hope will provide a basis for a draft plan on the debt in time for a European Union summit on Oct. 23.
Chicago corn and soybeans were still supported by China’s big corn and soybean purchases that were confirmed on Thursday.
Markets were also supported by stronger than expected U.S. September retail sales.
The U.S. dollar fell against most currencies as worries about Europe eased slightly. The weak greenback supported U.S. crop futures.
Wheat edged higher after heavy losses this week sparked by Wednesday’s USDA report that increased the wheat production estimate for Black Sea region, Australia and the European Union.
The Canadian Oilseed Processors Association said members crushed 124,337 tonnes of canola in the week ending Oct. 12, an increase of 2.6 percent over the previous week. That represents a capacity use of 77 percent.
Crush is running slightly ahead of last year at the same time.
Winnipeg (per tonne)
Canola Nov 11 $538.00, up $2.70 (+0.50%)
Canola Jan 12 $548.20, up $3.30 (+0.61%)
Canola Mar 12 $557.40, up $3.50 (+0.63%)
Canola May 12 $564.90, up $3.60 (+0.64%)
The previous day’s best basis narrowed to $17.40 under the November contract, according to ICE Futures Canada in Winnipeg.
The November contract’s 14-day Relative Strength Index was 49. The rule of thumb is an RSI of 30 indicates an over sold and 70 is over bought.
Western Barley Dec 11 $215.00, up $2.00 (+0.94%)
Chicago (per bushel)
Soybeans Nov 11 $12.70, up 13.0 cents (+1.03%)
Soybeans Jan 12 $12.785, up 11.75 (+0.93%)
Soybeans Mar 12 $12.8575, up 11.75 (+0.92%)
Corn Dec 11 $6.40, up 1.75 (+0.27%)
Corn Mar 12 $6.515, up 1.75 (+0.27%)
Oats Dec 11 $3.40, down 1.75 (-0.51%)
Oats Mar 12 $3.50, down 0.75 (-0.21%)
Minneapolis (per bushel)
Spring Wheat Dec 11 $8.925, up 9.25 cents (+1.05%)
Spring Wheat Mar 12 $8.3375, up 3.5 (+0.42%)
Spring Wheat May 12 $815, up 2.75 (+0.34%)
Light crude oil nearby futures in New York rose $2.57 to $86.80 US per barrel.
The Canadian dollar at noon was 98.55 cents US, up from 97.68 cents the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was 1.0147 Cdn.
In a preliminary tally, the Toronto Stock Exchange composite index closed up 169.84 points, or 1.43 percent, at 12,081.73.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 20.92 points, or 1.74 percent, to finish at 1,224.58.
For the week, the TSX composite rose about 4.3 percent, the Dow gained about 4.9 percent, the S&P 500 jumped six percent and the Nasdaq shot up 7.6 percent.
