March canola futures lost several dollars per tonne on the final trading day of 2012. Canola finished the year at $589.90, losing $6.70 per tonne Monday.
March soybean contracts in Chicago also declined on the day, losing 8.5 cents to settle at $14.095 per bushel.
Canola futures will conclude 2012 just under $600 per tonne, after starting the year trading at $520 per tonne, which represents a 15 percent gain over the last 365 days.
Similarly, soybean futures increased 16 percent during 2013.
Nearby Ccorn futures finished the day just under $7.00 per bu., at $6.9825. Since Jan 1, 2012 corn has gained about seven percent in value.
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The real story of 2012, though, were the record prices set in August and September. Corn futures closed in on $8.50 per bu. in August and soybeans hovered around $18 per bu. in September.
Not surprisingly, corn and soybean prices have backed away from the record highs. Of note, the decline has been steepest in December. Corn lost about 50 cents per bu. over the last month and soybeans sank more than 40 cents per bu.
Data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission suggests that investment funds are losing faith in agricultural commodities, which may explain the recent losses.
CFTC figures indicate the measure net long positions for farm commodities dropped 11 percent for the week ending December 24.
With wheat, for example, funds are now betting the price of wheat falls. Nearing the end of December funds held more short positions than long positions, CFTC data showed.
Concerns over stagnant growth in 2013 and fears of another global recession may be causing fund managers to look at other alternatives besides commodities, market watchers said.
On the positive side, agricultural futures were consistently high for most commodities over the last year. So, farmers do have a reason to celebrate the year that was 2012.
Happy New Year.
Winnipeg (per tonne)
Canola Jan 13 $601.80, down $3.40
Canola Mar 13 $589.90, down $6.70
Canola May 13 $584.30, down $7.20
Canola Jul 13 $581.30, down $6.30
Milling Wheat Mar 13 $290.50, unchanged
Milling Wheat May 13 $293.50, unchanged
Milling Wheat Jul 13 $295.50, unchanged
Durum Wheat Mar 13 $312.40, unchanged
Durum Wheat May 13 $316.40, unchanged
Durum Wheat Jul 13 $319.40, unchanged
Barley Mar 13 $247.00, unchanged
Barley May 13 $248.00, unchanged
Barley Jul 13 $248.50, unchanged
Chicago (per bushel)
Soybeans (P) Jan 13 $14.1875, down 5.25 cents
Soybeans (P) Mar 13 $14.095, down 8.5
Soybeans (P) May 13 $13.0025, down 10.25
Soybeans (P) Jul 13 $13.9525, down 12
Corn (P) Mar 13 $6.9825, up 4.25 cents
Corn (P) May 13 $7.0025, up 3.5
Corn (P) Jul 13 $6.9725, up 2.5
Oats (P) Mar 13 $3.475, down 1.5 cents
Oats (P) May 13 $3.545, down 1.75
Oats (P) Jul 13 $3.5775, up 0.25
Minneapolis (per bushel)
Spring Wheat Mar 13 $8.655, down 2.25 cents
Spring Wheat May 13 $8.7525, down 3.75
Spring Wheat Jul 13 $8.85, down 2.5
Spring Wheat Sep 13 $8.8675, down 0.5
The Canadian dollar moved up marginally Monday at noon, trading at $1.0051 US Friday, up from $1.0048 December 28. The U.S. greenback was worth $0.9949 CAN.
Nearby crude oil futures in New York gained $1.02 to finish at $91.82 per barrel.
