Canola futures continued to slide on Wednesday but American crop futures edged higher on a round of short covering.
The biggest market news of the day came from the Federal Reserve. As expected, it raised its interest rate by 25 basis points.
Canola futures are under pressure as technical indicators are negative. And trading will start to wind down as we move toward Christmas.
Dry areas of Argentina’s soy belt are expected to get needed rain this week. Brazil’s crop is doing well.
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While Canadian canola exports are up year over year, American soybean exports are lagging behind last year.
FED RAISES RATES
The Fed raised its benchmark overnight lending rate three times this year.
It projected three more hikes in each of 2018 and 2019 before a long-run level of 2.8 percent is reached. That is unchanged from the last round of forecasts in September, Reuters reported.
Some analysts thought the Fed might announce a more aggressive round of increases given the recent round of fairly strong reports on the American economy.
In a case of buy on the rumour, sell on the fact, the American dollar dipped against most currencies following the Fed announcement.
The Fed forecasts the U.S. economy will grow by 2.5 percent in 2018, up from a forecast of 2.1 percent back in September. The strong showing should help to lift Canada’s economy as well.
OUTSIDE MARKETS
Light crude oil nearby futures in New York were down 54 cents at US$56.67 per barrel.
In the afternoon, the Canadian dollar was trading around US77.99 cents, up from 77.70 cents the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar was C$1.2822.
The TSX composite closed at a record high level.
The index closed up 22.56 points, or 0.14 percent, at 16,136.59.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 80.63 points, or 0.33 percent, to end at 24,585.43, the S&P 500 lost 1.26 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2,662.85 and the Nasdaq Composite added 13.48 points, or 0.2 percent, to 6,875.80.
Winnipeg ICE Futures Canada dollars per tonne.
Canola Jan 18 498.70s -1.40 -0.28%
Canola Mar 18 506.90s -1.00 -0.20%
Canola May 18 514.20s -0.60 -0.12%
Canola Jul 18 518.10s -0.50 -0.10%
Canola Nov 18 503.50s +0.90 +0.18%
American crop prices in cents US/bushel, soybean meal in $US/short ton, soy oil in cents US/pound. Prices are displayed with fractions (2/8, 4/8, and 6/8) instead of decimals. -2 equals .25, -4 equals .50, -6 equals .75. The “s” means it is the settlement.
Chicago
Soybeans Jan 18 979-2s +3-4 +0.36%
Soybeans Mar 18 990-4s +3-2 +0.33%
Soybeans May 18 1001-4s +3-2 +0.33%
Soybeans Jul 18 1011-0s +3-2 +0.32%
Soybeans Aug 18 1012-4s +3-0 +0.30%
Soybean Meal Dec 17 325.1s +2.2 +0.68%
Soybean Meal Jan 18 326.8s +2.1 +0.65%
Soybean Meal Mar 18 330.9s +2.0 +0.61%
Soybean Oil Dec 17 33.11s -0.25 -0.75%
Soybean Oil Jan 18 33.21s -0.24 -0.72%
Soybean Oil Mar 18 33.40s -0.20 -0.60%
Corn Dec 17 336-6s +1-0 +0.30%
Corn Mar 18 349-0s +1-2 +0.36%
Corn May 18 357-2s +1-2 +0.35%
Corn Jul 18 365-4s +1-0 +0.27%
Corn Sep 18 372-4s +0-6 +0.20%
Oats Dec 17 234-0s +6-6 +2.97%
Oats Mar 18 249-0s +5-4 +2.26%
Oats May 18 255-0s +4-6 +1.90%
Oats Jul 18 262-4s +4-2 +1.65%
Oats Sep 18 264-4s +4-2 +1.63%
Wheat Dec 17 392-2s +5-0 +1.29%
Wheat Mar 18 416-6s +6-0 +1.46%
Wheat May 18 429-2s +5-2 +1.24%
Wheat Jul 18 442-4s +5-2 +1.20%
Wheat Sep 18 455-6s +5-0 +1.11%
Minneapolis
Spring Wheat Dec 17 599-6s +3-0 +0.50%
Spring Wheat Mar 18 612-4s +7-0 +1.16%
Spring Wheat May 18 621-0s +7-0 +1.14%
Spring Wheat Jul 18 625-4s +6-6 +1.09%
Spring Wheat Sep 18 621-6s +4-6 +0.77%
Kansas City
Hard Red Wheat Dec 17 399-0s +5-0 +1.27%
Hard Red Wheat Mar 18 416-2s +5-0 +1.22%
Hard Red Wheat May 18 429-2s +4-6 +1.12%
Hard Red Wheat Jul 18 445-2s +4-4 +1.02%
Hard Red Wheat Sep 18 459-4s +3-6 +0.82%
Chicago livestock futures in US¢/pound, Pit trade
Live Cattle Dec 17 115.650s -0.500 -0.43%
Live Cattle Feb 18 118.375s -0.775 -0.65%
Live Cattle Apr 18 120.200s -0.775 -0.64%
Feeder Cattle Jan 18 145.650s -1.450 -0.99%
Feeder Cattle Mar 18 144.050s -1.250 -0.86%
Feeder Cattle Apr 18 144.025s -1.300 -0.89%
Lean Hogs Dec 17 63.950s +0.200 +0.31%
Lean Hogs Feb 18 66.800s +0.275 +0.41%
Lean Hogs Apr 18 71.475s +0.300 +0.42%
