Canola futures fell on Friday capping a week that saw the nearby contract fall one percent as investors cooled their interest in commodities.
July canola closed at $554.80 per tonne, down $5.20.
Canola was also pressured by a dry weather forecast that should allow seeding progress in the western Prairies. However, there continues to be much concern about how much can be seeded. Many areas of the eastern Prairies remain too wet to support seeding equipment.
A 60 percent chance of light rain is forecast for May 17 in central Saskatchewan.
Worries about the strength of the U.S. recovery, sovereign debt issues in Europe and China’s inflation battle caused investors to again seek safety in the U.S. dollar. The dollar index, which measures the U.S. buck against a basket of other currencies, rose to a five week high.
The stronger U.S. dollar pressured soybean futures lower on Friday, but they were almost steady on the week. Crude oil futures also fell.
Corn futures closed the day stronger as wet weather continues to delay seeding in the Midwest.
WeatherBill, a weather insurance firm, has estimated that 834 million to 1.6 billion bushels of corn, or six to 12 percent of USDA’s projected 2011 crop of 13.5 billion bushels, may be lost due to heavy rains and planting delays so far in the eastern U.S. Corn Belt.
If that prediction comes true, it would force higher corn prices to ration demand.
Wheat futures fell Friday on forecast for rain next week in the dry hard red winter wheat region. The moisture will help Nebraska and northern Kansas, but might be too late for areas farther south.
The Canadian Oilseed Processors Association said members crushed 116,107 tonnes of canola in the week ending May. That was up almost seven percent from the week before.
Winnipeg (per tonne)
Canola Jul 11 $554.80, down $5.20
Canola Nov 11 $555.70, down $3.30
Canola Jan 12 $563.20, down $3.60
Canola Mar 12 $567.00, down $3.50
The previous day’s best basis was $20 under the July contract according to ICE Futures Canada in Winnipeg.
The May contract’s 14-day Relative Strength Index was 42. The rule of thumb is an RSI of 30 indicates an over sold market and 70 indicates an over bought market
Western Barley Jul 11 $205 unchanged
Chicago (per bushel)
Soybeans Jul 11 $13.295, down 13.25 cents
Soybeans Aug 11 $13.265, down 13.5
Soybeans Nov 11 $13.1075, down 15.5
Corn Jul 11 $6.82, up 1.5
Corn Dec 11 $6.27, down 3.5
Oats Jul 11 $3.445, down 2.5
Oats Dec 11 $3.595, down 1.5
Minneapolis (per bushel)
Spring Wheat Jul 11 $9.0025, down 4.5 cents
Spring Wheat Sep 11 $9.035, down 3.5
Spring Wheat Dec 11 $9.1625, down 4.25
Light crude oil nearby futures in New York rose 68 cents to $99.65 US per barrel. There were wide swings in oil prices this week as markets digested a range of news about the world economy.
The Canadian dollar at noon was $1.0354 US, down from $1.0436 the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was 96.58 cents Cdn.
The Toronto Stock Exchange composite index closed down 12.26 points, or 0.09 percent, at 13,377.16.
The Standard and Poor’s 500 index closed down 10.88 points, or 0.81 percent, at 1,337.77.
For the week, the TSX composite was down 1.4 percent, the Dow was down 0.3 percent, the S&P 500 was off 0.2 percent and the Nasdaq rose 0.03 percent.
Concern about slowed growth worldwide, the coming end of a supportive Federal Reserve policy and the fear of a worsening euro-zone debt crisis are undermining the stock market’s ability to maintain an upward direction. The $600 billion Federal Reserve bond-buying program is set to end in June.
