Canola pressured by falling palm

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Published: October 2, 2012

Canola futures fell again Tuesday as did all oilseeds, pressured by the rapid advance of the American harvest and growing stocks of palm oil.

November canola closed at $582.60 per tonne, down $6.30 or 1.07 percent.

November soybeans fell 1.9 percent at $15.305 per bushel. Wheat and corn were also down.

• The U.S. soybean harvest is running ahead of expectations with USDA saying Monday that 41 percent now in the bin, up from 22 percent a week ago. The five-year average for late September is 19 percent.

Traders had expected 38 percent.

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U.S. soybean futures fell to a 1-1/2 week low on Tuesday as China continued to shun purchases from the United States and as forecasts for improved rains in the coming days reinforced expectations for a sizeable Midwest harvest.

• Palm oil prices are falling as production outstrips demand.

Malaysian palm oil futures fell to their lowest in more than three years today as supplies rose.

China, the second largest palm oil importer after India, is importing less palm. Its slowing economy is partly responsible but also the government has instituted new rules requiring cooking oil suppliers to improve the information on their labels, including identifying the source of their products.

This appears to be working against what was a practice of blending cheaper palm with other oils.

• Rain is forecast for soybean growing areas of Brazil and Argentina, setting up the crop for a good seeding season.

• Background support for canola comes from expectations that Statistics Canada will lower its crop size estimate in its report Oct. 4.

There is a wide range of pre report estimates for canola. A Reuters survey of analysts ranged from 13.1 million tonnes to 15.5 million, with the avearge at 14.6 million. The StatsCan August report was 15.41 million. Last year’s crop was 14.49 million.

StatsCan’s survey was conducted Sept. 4-11 and missed the damage caused by the severe wind Sept. 11 and on Sept. 18.

 

Winnipeg (per tonne)

Canola Nov 12  $582.60, down $6.30       -1.07%

Canola Jan 13  $585.50, down $6.80       -1.15%

Canola Mar 13  $584.90, down $6.70       -1.13%

Canola May 13  $577.10, down $6.90       -1.18%

Milling Wheat Oct 12  $293.60, down $4.10       -1.38%

Milling Wheat Dec 12  $298.80, down $4.10       -1.35%

Milling Wheat Mar 13  $308.30, down $4.10       -1.31%

Durum Wheat Oct 12  $309.30, down $2.60       -0.83%

Durum Wheat Dec 12  $313.80, down $2.60       -0.82%

Durum Wheat Mar 13  $320.40, down $2.60       -0.80%

Barley Oct 12  $245.00, down $4.50       -1.80%

Barley Dec 12  $250.00, down $4.50       -1.77%

Barley Mar 13  $253.00, down $4.50       -1.75%

 

Chicago (per bushel)

Soybeans (P) Nov 12  $15.305, down 29.75 cents       -1.91%

Soybeans (P) Jan 13  $15.3325, down 29.75       -1.90%

Soybeans (P) Mar 13  $15.0175, down 27.75       -1.81%

Soybeans (P) May 13  $14.615, down 27.0       -1.81%

Corn (P) Dec 12  $7.5825, up 1.5       +0.20%

Corn (P) Mar 13  $7.5975, down 0.25       -0.03%

Corn (P) May 13  $7.55, down 0.75       -0.10%

Oats (P) Dec 12  $3.6025, down 6.25       -1.71%

Oats (P) Mar 13  $3.66, down 5.75       -1.55%

Oats (P) May 13  $3.6725, down 5.75       -1.54%

 

Minneapolis (per bushel)

Spring Wheat Dec 12  $9.2425, down 13.25 cents       -1.41%

Spring Wheat Mar 13  $9.345, down 12.75       -1.35%

Spring Wheat May 13  $9.41, down 12.0       -1.26%

Spring Wheat Jul 13  $9.38, down 11.75       -1.24%

 

The Bank of Canada noon rate for the loonie was $1.0174 US, little changed from $1.0176 on Monday.

The U.S. buck was 98.29 cents Cdn.

Nearby crude oil in New York fell 59 cents to $91.89 per barrel.

In early tallies:

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index closed up 21.04 points, or 0.17 percent, at 12,391.23.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 32.75 points, or 0.24 percent, to 13,482.36.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 1.26 points, or 0.09 percent, to 1,445.75.

The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 6.51 points, or 0.21 percent, to close at 3,120.04.

Follow me on Twitter @darcemcmillan

About the author

D'Arce McMillan

Markets editor, Saskatoon newsroom

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