It was mostly a down day in North American crop markets with prices under pressure because of plentiful supplies.
Canola futures dipped for a third straight day in light trade, pressured by fund selling, but the loss was limited by a modest late session recovery in soybean futures.
May canola slipped 40 cents to $453.40 per tonne.
New crop November fell 60 cents to $445.30.
Chicago May soybeans closed slightly higher on position squaring ahead of the monthly U.S. Department of Agriculture supply and demand report on Thursday. Watch for our coverage of the report on Twitter and Producer.com.
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New crop soybean contracts fell on the assumption that U.S. farmers will seed a record amount of the crop.
A sharp drop in crude oil prices did not help the oilseed complex.
Analysts expect the USDA tomorrow will trim its estimate of soybean production in Brazil but raise its outlook for the Argentine harvest.
Wheat futures were mostly lower although Chicago May wheat eked out a 0.25 cent gain.
Large world stocks and strong competition are weighing on wheat prices.
May Kansas hard red winter wheat futures fell, touching a one-week low on wetter forecasts for the U.S. Plains. But still little rain is expected in the western reaches of the hard red wheat belt, which is the driest.
The average analyst estimate of U.S. 2014-15 wheat ending stocks for Thursday’s USDA report was 692 million bushels, nearly unchanged from USDA’s March figure of 691 million.
Rainfall in parts of Australia’s eastern grain belt over the past few days has improved soil moisture ahead of planting later this month, although more is needed, Reuters reported.
Crude oil fell sharply after a weekly report showed U.S. inventories rose the most since 2001 and Saudi Arabia reported record production in March.
Light crude oil nearby futures in New York were down $3.56 to US$50.42 and Saudi.
The Canadian dollar at noon was 79.95 cents, down from 80.08 cents the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was C$1.2508.
Release of the minutes from the most recent Federal Reserve meeting revived the usual speculation over when the central bank will increase interest rates.
North American stock markets were a little higher in late trade.
Winnipeg ICE Futures Canada dollars per tonne
Canola May 2015 453.40 -0.40 -0.09%
Canola Jul 2015 453.40 -0.70 -0.15%
Canola Nov 2015 445.30 -0.60 -0.13%
Canola Jan 2016 445.80 -0.50 -0.11%
Canola Mar 2016 445.30 -1.00 -0.22%
Milling Wheat May 2015 237.00 -2.00 -0.84%
Milling Wheat Jul 2015 235.00 -1.00 -0.42%
Milling Wheat Oct 2015 235.00 -2.00 -0.84%
Durum Wheat May 2015 323.00 unch 0.00%
Durum Wheat Jul 2015 313.00 unch 0.00%
Durum Wheat Oct 2015 318.00 unch 0.00%
Barley May 2015 205.00 unch 0.00%
Barley Jul 2015 204.00 unch 0.00%
Barley Oct 2015 189.00 unch 0.00%
American crop prices in cents US/bushel, soybean meal in $US/short ton, soy oil in cents US/pound
Chicago
Soybeans May 2015 971.5 +0.5 +0.05%
Soybeans Jul 2015 976.5 +0.25 +0.03%
Soybeans Aug 2015 975.5 -0.25 -0.03%
Soybeans Sep 2015 966.25 -1.5 -0.15%
Soybeans Nov 2015 960.5 -2.75 -0.29%
Soybeans Jan 2016 966.5 -2.75 -0.28%
Soybean Meal May 2015 319.9 +0.2 +0.06%
Soybean Meal Jul 2015 319.7 +0.4 +0.13%
Soybean Meal Aug 2015 318.9 +0.2 +0.06%
Soybean Oil May 2015 30.95 -0.08 -0.26%
Soybean Oil Jul 2015 31.14 -0.06 -0.19%
Soybean Oil Aug 2015 31.21 -0.06 -0.19%
Corn May 2015 379.25 -3.75 -0.98%
Corn Jul 2015 387.25 -3.75 -0.96%
Corn Sep 2015 395 -3.75 -0.94%
Corn Dec 2015 404.75 -3 -0.74%
Corn Mar 2016 414.75 -2.75 -0.66%
Oats May 2015 270 -3 -1.10%
Oats Jul 2015 270 -3.25 -1.19%
Oats Sep 2015 273.5 -3 -1.08%
Oats Dec 2015 276 -1.25 -0.45%
Oats Mar 2016 283.5 -1 -0.35%
Wheat May 2015 526.25 +0.25 +0.05%
Wheat Jul 2015 523.75 -1.25 -0.24%
Wheat Sep 2015 532.25 -1.25 -0.23%
Wheat Dec 2015 546.5 -0.25 -0.05%
Wheat Mar 2016 560 +0.25 +0.04%
Minneapolis
Spring Wheat May 2015 580.5 -3 -0.51%
Spring Wheat Jul 2015 585.5 -3.5 -0.59%
Spring Wheat Sep 2015 592 -4 -0.67%
Spring Wheat Dec 2015 602.5 -4.5 -0.74%
Spring Wheat Mar 2016 614 -5 -0.81%
Kansas City
Hard Red Wheat May 2015 561.25 -4 -0.71%
Hard Red Wheat Jul 2015 565.75 -4 -0.70%
Hard Red Wheat Sep 2015 576.5 -3.5 -0.60%
Hard Red Wheat Dec 2015 591.5 -3 -0.50%
Hard Red Wheat Mar 2016 602.75 -3 -0.50%
