Weak soybeans and a stronger loonie depressed canola futures Thursday.
Soybeans fell in sympathy with corn and wheat. Improving Midwest weather should allow a timely start to corn seeding. Weakness in Chicago wheat, corn and soybean pushed prices below support levels, triggering more selling.
Canola avoided the sharp selloff, supported by slow farmer selling and worries about dry soil in the western Prairies.
The May canola contract fell 60 cents to $379.70 per tonne on 7,833 trades. The previous day’s best basis was steady at -$10 per tonne off the May contract in the par region, according to the Winnipeg ICE Futures daily report.
The 14-day Relative Strength Index for May canola fell to 46, according to BarChart.com. The rule of thumb is an RSI of 30 indicates an oversold market and 70 indicates overbought.
July fell 40 cents to $385.70 on 6,044 trades.
New crop November fell $2.30 to $386.40 per tonne on 1,746 trades.
The Canadian dollar at noon was 98.15 cents US, up from 97.53 cents at noon the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was $1.0188 Cdn. With inflation and growth outpacing forecasts, Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney indicated he’s open to increasing interest rates, perhaps at the central bank’s June 1 meeting.
There was again no trade in Winnipeg barley and only 26 open interest contracts: 11 in May, five in July and 10 in December.
The May contract was steady at $154. July was steady at $145. December was steady at $150.
May soybeans fell 17.5 cents US to $9.425 per bushel. November soybeans fell 14.25 cents to $9.13 per bu.
May oats fell 8.25 cents to $2.0675 per bu.
Light crude oil for May delivery fell eight cents to $80.53 per barrel.
