Crop futures, including canola, bounced back a little on Wednesday on bargain buying.
Canola gained on short covering and support from soybeans.
The biggest gainer today was November soybeans, driven by bear spreading. Recent export sales have supported soybean prices.
Rain last week and this week in Europe is interfering with rapeseed harvest and limiting the full production potential of the crop. Production will still likely top last year, but not as much as was expected a few weeks ago.
The rain has also hurt the quality of some French wheat.
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Pulse Weekly: Talk arises of India ending duty-free period
With harvest underway across the Canadian Prairies rumblings has been felt from the other side of the world, specifically in regards yellow peas. There have been recent media reports stating the Indian government is under growing domestic pressure to end its duty-free period on yellow pea imports.
Heavy rain of up to 50 millimetres is forecast Thursday in the Grande Cache, Grande Prairie and Peace River regions of northwestern Alberta, which have been suffering from lack of moisture. The rain is expected to move east, with 25-35 mm falling in central Alberta on Friday. Lesser amounts are expected in Saskatchewan on Friday.
The warm weather of the past couple of weeks has improved crop conditions across the Prairies. Statistics Canada’s Crop Condition Assessment Program, which uses satellite monitoring of vegetation and compares it to a long term index shows that better than normal conditions now extend from northwest Saskatchewan down through central and south central areas. Last week, parts of Alberta were considered better than normal, but that has now scaled back to normal conditions.
Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan remain lower to much lower than normal.
CN Rail posted strong quarterly results this week. Claude Mongeau, president and chief executive said grain transportation is moving at record levels. He said there is only about a week of orders outstanding, all the ship lineups at port are at normal levels and the overall supply chain is fully back in sync.
Scouts on the U.S. spring wheat crop tour estimated yield potential across southern North Dakota at well above normal. The potential in northwestern North Dakota was more variable and crops are developing later than normal.
A similar tour will begin next week in Western Canada, sponsored by CWB. The Western Producer will have reporters on all three legs of the tour and will provide extensive coverage on our Twitter feed @westernproducer, at Producer.com and in the newspaper.
Corn bounced back from the four-year low set Tuesday. It was technically oversold, with the December contract 14-day relative strength index today at 22.4 percent.
A Reuters story today noted that the below normal monsoon in India is not replenishing reservoirs that are needed to irrigate wheat and rapeseed that are planted in the fall. The level in the country’s 85 main reservoirs stood at 26 percent of capacity, down from 42 percent at the same time last year. The 10 year average for this time of year is 30 percent.
Winnipeg ICE Futures Canada dollars per tonne
Canola Nov 2014 438.00 +4.60 +1.06%
Canola Jan 2015 441.80 +4.60 +1.05%
Canola Mar 2015 442.40 +4.70 +1.07%
Canola May 2015 438.90 +5.20 +1.20%
Canola Jul 2015 434.70 +5.30 +1.23%
Milling Wheat Oct 2014 190.00 -1.00 -0.52%
Milling Wheat Dec 2014 194.00 unch 0.00%
Milling Wheat Mar 2015 196.00 -4.00 -2.00%
Durum Wheat Oct 2014 250.00 unch 0.00%
Durum Wheat Dec 2014 256.00 unch 0.00%
Durum Wheat Mar 2015 257.00 unch 0.00%
Barley Oct 2014 137.50 unch 0.00%
Barley Dec 2014 139.50 unch 0.00%
Barley Mar 2015 140.50 unch 0.00%
American crop prices in cents US/bushel, soybean meal in $US/short ton, soy oil in cents US/pound
Chicago
Soybeans Aug 2014 1201 +17 +1.44%
Soybeans Sep 2014 1101.75 +16.75 +1.54%
Soybeans Nov 2014 1076.5 +18.75 +1.77%
Soybeans Jan 2015 1083.75 +18 +1.69%
Soybeans Mar 2015 1090.75 +17 +1.58%
Soybeans May 2015 1097 +15.25 +1.41%
Soybean Meal Aug 2014 391.5 +9.7 +2.54%
Soybean Meal Sep 2014 364.3 +5.9 +1.65%
Soybean Meal Oct 2014 350.2 +4.9 +1.42%
Soybean Oil Aug 2014 36.2 +0.27 +0.75%
Soybean Oil Sep 2014 36.24 +0.25 +0.69%
Soybean Oil Oct 2014 36.22 +0.29 +0.81%
Corn Sep 2014 362.5 +2.25 +0.62%
Corn Dec 2014 370.75 +2.5 +0.68%
Corn Mar 2015 382.5 +2.25 +0.59%
Corn May 2015 390.25 +1.75 +0.45%
Corn Jul 2015 397.5 +1.5 +0.38%
Oats Sep 2014 333 +3 +0.91%
Oats Dec 2014 324.25 +0.25 +0.08%
Oats Mar 2015 315.25 -1.5 -0.47%
Oats May 2015 306 -1.75 -0.57%
Oats Jul 2015 307 -3 -0.97%
Wheat Sep 2014 530.75 +6.25 +1.19%
Wheat Dec 2014 554.5 +5.75 +1.05%
Wheat Mar 2015 577.75 +5.25 +0.92%
Wheat May 2015 593.75 +5.5 +0.93%
Wheat Jul 2015 607 +5.5 +0.91%
Minneapolis
Spring Wheat Sep 2014 621 +2.25 +0.36%
Spring Wheat Dec 2014 629.75 +2 +0.32%
Spring Wheat Mar 2015 642.5 +1 +0.16%
Spring Wheat May 2015 650.25 +0.75 +0.12%
Spring Wheat Jul 2015 657.5 +0.25 +0.04%
Kansas City
KC HRW Wheat Sep 2014 623.5 +2.25 +0.36%
KC HRW Wheat Dec 2014 636.5 +3.75 +0.59%
KC HRW Wheat Mar 2015 644.75 +4 +0.62%
KC HRW Wheat May 2015 651.25 +5 +0.77%
KC HRW Wheat Jul 2015 642.75 +7 +1.10%
Light crude oil nearby futures in New York rose 73 cents at $103.12 US per barrel.
The Canadian dollar at noon was 93.10 cents US, little changed from 93.07 cents the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was $1.0741 Cdn.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index closed at a new record high, up 79.25 points, or 0.52 percent, at 15,394.38. Merger and acquisition news concerning a Bell Canada takeover of Bell Aliant and a bid by Spain’s Repsol to buy Talisman Energy supported the TSX today.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 26.91 points or 0.16 percent, to end at 17,086.63.
The S&P 500 gained 3.50 points or 0.18 percent, to finish at a record 1,987.03.
The Nasdaq Composite added 17.68 points or 0.40 percent, to close 4,473.70.
