Canola closed up a penny or two per bushel on Thursday but off the highs of the day.
The leading news today was wheat, which enjoyed a slightly stronger rally on a blast of cold weather hitting the U.S. that has the potential to harm pockets of winter wheat. Also supporting wheat was a series of wheat purchases and tenders this week as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Algeria, Japan and others snap up bargain-priced supply.
The stronger wheat price lent support to corn.
The Canadian dollar continued its nosedive, falling another half cent and at noon dropping below the 90 cent US mark.
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That helped support canola a little but the logistics problems are muting the effect of the exchange rate. Crusher buying also provided support.
Canola basis bids are improving from the awful level of the last few weeks.
Palm oil rallied a little today, mostly in response to a weaker Malaysian currency. The Malaysian Palm Oil Board forecasted that palm oil stocks at the end of year would drop from the 1.99 million tonnes at the end of 2013.
The Buenos Aires Grains Exchange today pegged Argentina’s soy crop at 53 million tonnes. That compares the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast of 54.5 million.
USDA’s figure for Argentina’s cop last year is 49.3 million tonnes.
Harvest has begun in parts of Brazil and early results are promising for a record crop.
Today the U.S. National Grain and Feed Association and North American Export Grain Association wrote to Syngenta, asking the company to hold back on its genetically altered Agrisure Viptera and Duracade corn varieties until China and other U.S. export markets have granted regulatory approval.
The U.S. has had major problems exporting corn to China because of the presence of a GM variety not approved by Beijing.
In markets generally investors were concerned about a report that measures manufacturing in China, which showed activity fell in January from December.
Friday morning will have the weekly U.S. jobless claims data. Expectations call for 326,000 claims, equal to the prior week.
There will also be data on U.S. existing home sales data for December. Analysts expect a slight increase.
Winnipeg ICE Futures Canada dollars per tonne
Canola Mar 2014 428.20 +0.30 +0.07%
Canola May 2014 437.90 +0.50 +0.11%
Canola Jul 2014 446.80 +1.10 +0.25%
Canola Nov 2014 462.30 +1.90 +0.41%
Canola Jan 2015 467.90 +1.40 +0.30%
Milling Wheat Mar 2014 184.00 +3.00
Milling Wheat May 2014 189.00 +3.00
Milling Wheat Jul 2014 192.00 +3.00
Durum Wheat Mar 2014 245.00 unch 0.00%
Durum Wheat May 2014 249.00 unch 0.00%
Durum Wheat Jul 2014 250.00 unch 0.00%
Barley Mar 2014 127.00 unch 0.00%
Barley May 2014 129.00 unch 0.00%
Barley Jul 2014 129.00 unch 0.00%
American crop prices in cents US/bushel, soybean meal in $US/short ton, soy oil in cents US/pound
Chicago
Soybeans Mar 2014 1277 -2.5 -0.20%
Soybeans May 2014 1262.5 -2.5 -0.20%
Soybeans Jul 2014 1250.25 -2 -0.16%
Soybeans Aug 2014 1212.75 -4.25 -0.35%
Soybeans Sep 2014 1149 -4.75 -0.41%
Soybeans Nov 2014 1108.75 -4.25 -0.38%
Soybean Meal Mar 2014 418.7 -0.7 -0.17%
Soybean Meal May 2014 404.8 -1.2 -0.30%
Soybean Meal Jul 2014 396.5 -1.6 -0.40%
Soybean Oil Mar 2014 37.86 +0.02 +0.05%
Soybean Oil May 2014 38.2 +0.03 +0.08%
Soybean Oil Jul 2014 38.56 +0.05 +0.13%
Corn Mar 2014 429 +2.75 +0.65%
Corn May 2014 435.25 +2.25 +0.52%
Corn Jul 2014 441.25 +2.25 +0.51%
Corn Sep 2014 444.5 +2 +0.45%
Corn Dec 2014 449.25 +1.75 +0.39%
Oats Mar 2014 389.25 -10.25 -2.57%
Oats May 2014 354 -5.25 -1.46%
Oats Jul 2014 328 -2.25 -0.68%
Oats Sep 2014 304.5 -4.75 -1.54%
Oats Dec 2014 288.25 -7.25 -2.45%
Wheat Mar 2014 570 +8.75 +1.56%
Wheat May 2014 576.25 +8.25 +1.45%
Wheat Jul 2014 582.25 +8.25 +1.44%
Wheat Sep 2014 590.5 +7.75 +1.33%
Wheat Dec 2014 603.25 +7.5 +1.26%
Minneapolis
Spring Wheat Mar 2014 617.25 +0.5 +0.08%
Spring Wheat May 2014 618.25 +2 +0.32%
Spring Wheat Jul 2014 626 +2.75 +0.44%
Spring Wheat Sep 2014 633.5 +2.25 +0.36%
Spring Wheat Dec 2014 646.75 +2 +0.31%
Kansas City
KCBT Red Wheat Mar 2014 632.25 +7.5 +1.20%
KCBT Red Wheat May 2014 630 +8 +1.29%
KCBT Red Wheat Jul 2014 623.5 +7 +1.14%
KCBT Red Wheat Sep 2014 633.5 +6.25 +1.00%
KCBT Red Wheat Dec 2014 645.25 +5.25 +0.82%
Light crude oil nearby futures in New York rose 59 cents at $97.32 US per barrel.
The Canadian dollar at noon was 89.85 cents US, down from 90.34 cents the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was $1.1130 Cdn.
