Canola futures edged lower on Friday pressured by falling soybeans and uncertainty about what will happen in the Greek debt crisis.
November canola closed Friday at $528.50, down 80 cents or 0.15 percent and the most active contract, January, closed at $530.50, also down 80 cents.
Over the week, the November contract fell $1.20 and January fell 30 cents, moved mostly by outside market forces as traders shifted back and forth between hope and despair over the Greek crisis and wider European sovereign debt issue.
It is not yet clear that Greece’s government will survive a no confidence vote in parliament later today.
Soybeans were also weakened by slower than expected weekly exports.
• Canadian crushers were busy in the last week.
The Canadian Oilseed processors Association said members crushed 141,754 tonnes of canola in the week ending Nov. 2, an increase of almost 12 percent from the week before.
That represented a crush capacity use of almost 97 percent.
• Traders are eagerly anticipating the release next Wednesday of the U.S. Department of Agriculture monthly supply and demand report
Traders and analysts polled by Reuters generally think U.S. corn production will be slightly lower than USDA’s last report.
An average of analysts’ estimates pegged this year’s production at 12.381 billion bushels, shy of the October USDA forecast for 12.433 billion.
The average yield estimate is 147.7 bushels, below the October forecast for 148.1.
They pegged the supply of corn at the end of 2011-12 at 795 million bu., down from the USDA October forecast of 866 million.
The average of traders soybean production estimates is 3.048 billion bu. compared to USDA’s October forecast of 3.060.
The Reuters polls said traders see year end stocks at 182 million bu., up from the October projection of 160 million because of a slow start to the export season.
The bankruptcy of MF Global early this week has left some Winnipeg speculators without a clearing firm.
Winnipeg (per tonne)
Canola Nov 11 $528.50, down $0.80 (-0.15%)
Canola Jan 12 $530.50, down $0.80 (-0.15%)
Canola Mar 12 $537.00, down $1.10 (-0.20%)
Canola May 12 $541.30, down $1.10 (-0.20%)
The previous day’s best basis was $15 under the January contract.
The November contract’s 14-day Relative Strength Index was not available.
Western Barley Dec 11 $216 unchanged
Chicago (per bushel)
Soybeans Nov 11 $12.125, down 6.75 cents (-0.55%)
Soybeans Jan 12 $12.21, down 6.25 (-0.51%)
Soybeans Mar 12 $12.30, down 6.5 (-0.53%)
Corn Dec 11 $6.5575, up 2.25 (+0.34%)
Corn Mar 12 $6.6625, up 2.5 (+0.38%)
Oats Dec 11 $3.29, down 3.0 (-0.90%)
Oats Mar 12 $3.375, down 3.5 (-1.03%)
Minneapolis (per bushel)
Spring Wheat Dec 11 $9.2375, up 6.75 cents (+0.74%)
Spring Wheat Mar 12 $8.715, up 3.5 (+0.40%)
Spring Wheat May 12 $8.445, up 1.0 (+0.12%)
Light crude oil nearby futures in New York rose 19 cents to $94.26 US per barrel.
The Canadian dollar at noon was 98.23 cents US, down from 98.75 the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was $1.0180 Cdn.
An unexpected drop in Canadian employment pressured Toronto stocks lower. The economy lost 54,000 jobs in October, according to Statistics Canada.
The Toronto Stock Exchange composite index ended down 60.1 points, or 0.5 percent, at 12,408.25. Earlier in the day it fell as lower as 12,308.21.
U.S. hiring slowed in October but the unemployment rate hit a six-month low.
U.S. jobs rose by 80,000, shy of economists’ expectations for 95,000.
The jobless rate dipped to nine percent from 9.1.
Also, job gains in the prior two months were stronger than previously thought.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was lost 7.92 points, or 0.63 percent, to 1,253.23.
For the week, the TSX composite was down less than one percent despite huge daily swings. The Dow fell two percent while the S&P was off 2.5 percent and the Nasdaq lost 1.9 percent.
