Canola futures extended their rally when trading resumed Tuesday supported by harvest delays due to snow and rain in Canada and by vegetable oil gains in the U.S. market on Monday.
ICE Canada was closed Monday for Thanksgiving but U.S. markets were open.
November canola has not had a down day since Sept. 30. It has gained almost $10 since then.
Most of the Prairies should be dry for the next several days but Friday could see more moisture although accumulations are expected to be light.
Read Also
Louis Dreyfus posts higher volumes, lower profits in first half
Agricultural commodity merchant Louis Dreyfus Company recorded a rise in first-half sales, supported by higher volumes shipped, but weaker prices for most crops pushed down profits, it said on Friday.
The return to harvest will be slow in areas that had heavy wet snow and rain last week and on the weekend.
Soy oil closed lower Tuesday, giving back much of the gains made on Monday when palm oil rallied, due mostly to a weaker local currency in Malaysia.
U.S. corn, soybean and wheat futures firmed on Tuesday as traders adjusted positions ahead of a monthly U.S. government crop report, traders said.
All three markets were able to withstand pressure from weaker energy markets and a stronger American dollar, which tends to make U.S. grains less attractive on the world market.
Commodity funds hold net short positions in CBOT corn and wheat, leaving those markets susceptible to short-covering rallies, particularly with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s October supply-demand report due on Wednesday.
“The dominant issue is positioning ahead of the report, and it’s a quieter trade because of that. You have got big yields out here, but people want to cover at these values, just in case,” said Don Roose, president of U.S. Commodities in West Des Moines, Iowa.
Analysts surveyed by Reuters on average expected the USDA to lower its estimate of the U.S. 2016 corn yield from 174.4 bushels per acre in September to 173.5, which would still be an all-time high.
Analysts expect the government to raise its U.S. soybean yield estimate to 51.6 bushels per acre, up from USDA’s September figure of 50.6.
CBOT soybeans got a boost after the USDA reported export inspections of U.S. soybeans in the latest week at 1.8 million tonnes, above a range of trade expectations for 1.0 million to 1.2 million tonnes.
But pressure from the ongoing harvest of large U.S. corn and soy crops hung over the market, limiting rallies.
Ahead of the USDA’s weekly crop progress report due later on Tuesday, analysts surveyed by Reuters expected the government to show the U.S. soybean harvest as 48 percent complete and the corn harvest as 38 percent complete.
Wheat drew support from technical buying including fund short-covering.
“We are not talking about a rally, it is just rising from multi-year lows,” said Phin Ziebell, agribusiness economist at National Australia Bank.
CBOT wheat is recovering from a 10-year low reached in late summer when the market was hit by expectations for rising U.S. inventories and record global supplies, leading investment funds to add to large short positions.
Australia’s crops could be hurt by recent excess rain and frost and the forecast for a wetter than normal finish of the growing season.
Ukraine’s winter crop seeded area could be reduced by recent heavy rain.
Light crude oil nearby futures in New York were down 56 cents to US$50.79 per barrel.
OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers will talk tomorrow about firming up support for an oil production reduction agreed to last month by OPEC members.
The Canadian dollar at noon was US75.53 cents, up from 75.17 cents the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was C$1.3239.
It is a period when companies release their quarterly earnings and today some of those reports were disappointing, pushing stock markets lower.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index closed down 16.66 points, or 0.11 percent, at 14,549.60.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 197.27 points, or 1.08 percent, to 18,131.77, the S&P 500 lost 26.82 points, or 1.24 percent, to 2,136.84 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 81.89 points, or 1.54 percent, to 5,246.79.
Winnipeg ICE Futures Canada dollars per tonne
Canola Nov 2016 474.00 +4.20 +0.89%
Canola Jan 2017 481.40 +4.10 +0.86%
Canola Mar 2017 486.90 +4.20 +0.87%
Canola May 2017 491.50 +4.50 +0.92%
Canola Jul 2017 493.10 +4.40 +0.90%
Milling Wheat Dec 2016 230.00 +1.00 +0.44%
Milling Wheat Mar 2017 234.00 +1.00 +0.43%
Milling Wheat May 2017 236.00 unch 0.00%
Durum Wheat Dec 2016 282.00 unch 0.00%
Durum Wheat Mar 2017 289.00 unch 0.00%
Durum Wheat May 2017 293.00 unch 0.00%
Barley Dec 2016 132.50 unch 0.00%
Barley Mar 2017 134.50 unch 0.00%
Barley May 2017 135.50 unch 0.00%
American crop prices in cents US/bushel, soybean meal in $US/short ton, soy oil in cents US/pound
Chicago
Soybeans Nov 2016 954.25 -0.25 -0.03%
Soybeans Jan 2017 961.75 +0.25 +0.03%
Soybeans Mar 2017 968.25 +0.50 +0.05%
Soybeans May 2017 975.00 +0.50 +0.05%
Soybeans Jul 2017 980.75 +0.50 +0.05%
Soybeans Aug 2017 980.00 +0.75 +0.08%
Soybean Meal Oct 2016 297.60 +1.30 +0.44%
Soybean Meal Dec 2016 300.30 +2.20 +0.74%
Soybean Meal Jan 2017 301.60 +2.30 +0.77%
Soybean Oil Oct 2016 33.16 -0.46 -1.37%
Soybean Oil Dec 2016 33.35 -0.47 -1.39%
Soybean Oil Jan 2017 33.63 -0.46 -1.35%
Corn Dec 2016 345.50 +2.25 +0.66%
Corn Mar 2017 355.25 +2.00 +0.57%
Corn May 2017 361.75 +1.50 +0.42%
Corn Jul 2017 368.50 +1.50 +0.41%
Corn Sep 2017 375.50 +1.50 +0.40%
Oats Dec 2016 199.00 +2.00 +1.02%
Oats Mar 2017 201.00 +2.50 +1.26%
Oats May 2017 204.25 +2.00 +0.99%
Oats Jul 2017 210.50 unch 0.00%
Oats Sep 2017 219.50 +2.00 +0.92%
Wheat Dec 2016 407.25 +3.50 +0.87%
Wheat Mar 2017 425.00 +1.25 +0.29%
Wheat May 2017 438.00 +1.00 +0.23%
Wheat Jul 2017 449.75 +1.25 +0.28%
Wheat Sep 2017 464.50 +1.00 +0.22%
Minneapolis
Spring Wheat Dec 2016 524.25 +2.00 +0.38%
Spring Wheat Mar 2017 526.50 +0.25 +0.05%
Spring Wheat May 2017 531.50 -0.25 -0.05%
Spring Wheat Jul 2017 538.25 unch 0.00%
Spring Wheat Sep 2017 546.00 +0.50 +0.09%
Kansas City
Hard Red Wheat Dec 2016 406.25 -0.75 -0.18%
Hard Red Wheat Mar 2017 423.00 -0.50 -0.12%
Hard Red Wheat May 2017 433.25 -0.50 -0.12%
Hard Red Wheat Jul 2017 443.75 -0.75 -0.17%
Hard Red Wheat Sep 2017 458.75 -0.75 -0.16%
Chicago livestock futures in US¢/pound (rounded to two decimal places)
Live Cattle (P) Oct 2016 97.50 -1.38 -1.40%
Live Cattle (P) Dec 2016 99.10 -0.95 -0.95%
Live Cattle (P) Feb 2017 100.55 -0.42 -0.42%
Feeder Cattle (P) Oct 2016 124.12 -0.53 -0.43%
Feeder Cattle (P) Nov 2016 119.58 -0.45 -0.37%
Feeder Cattle (P) Jan 2017 115.55 -0.35 -0.30%
Lean Hogs (P) Oct 2016 51.45 +0.78 +1.54%
Lean Hogs (P) Dec 2016 42.78 +0.41 +0.97%
Lean Hogs (P) Feb 2017 50.10 +0.52 +1.05%
