Canola futures saw the biggest decline of the day on crop markets Tuesday, falling more than 2.5 percent.
Canola’s weakness was mostly technical in nature, with the slide worsening once the price edged below a technical support line.
Falling soybeans also contributed to canola’s weakness today.
Soybeans fell on signs of weaker Chinese demand, with buyers there said to be defaulting on deals. China’s crush margins are weak and demand for meal is off because of sharp culling in the poultry flock due to avian influenza.
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U.S. grains: Soybean futures set two-week high on US weather worry, soyoil rally
Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures touched a two-week high on Friday on worries that heat may threaten U.S. crops and expectations that the country’s biofuel policy would boost demand for soyoil, analysts said.
Reuters reported that traders said there was talk that China would auction off three million tonnes of soybeans that it has in reserves.
Corn rose on the slow pace of seeding in the U.S. Midwest. The USDA on Monday said that six percent of the crop had been seeded, less than what was expected and less than the five-year average of 14 percent.
There are expectations that the weather would allow a better pace this week, but there is rain in the forecast for the Midwest.
Rain is also expected across a broad swath of the Canadian Prairies on Wednesday and Thursday with the largest amounts falling in central Saskatchewan. The Weather Network forecasts 20-30 milimetres of rain for Saskatoon on Wednesday. Regina should get about 15 mm.
Here is a map of the Wednesday forecast from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
And here is a map of accumulation for Wednesday and Thursday.
Wheat futures closed higher, supported by corn’s rise.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Monday that good-to-excellent ratings for U.S. winter wheat stabilized at 34 percent, one percentage point lower than a year ago.
Hard wheat areas of the southern Plains generally were worse than the week before while soft wheat areas in the Midwest got better.
Rain is expected in central Kansas and eastern Nebraska this week but amounts in the driest areas in the western parts of the Plains will likely get less rain
CME Group Inc will implement a new system for setting daily price limits based on underlying price levels.
The new soybean limit, which goes into effect in May, will be $1 a bushel.
The price limits for soyoil and soymeal will rise to 3 cents per pound and $30 per ton, respectively.
The initial daily limit for corn will drop to 35 cents a bushel from 40 cents.
The new limit for soft red winter wheat contracts will drop 15 cents to 45 cents a bushel.
The limit for Kansas City hard red winter wheat will be 50 cents a bushel, 10 cents lower than its current limit. The Kansas City contract is owned by CME Group.
Winnipeg ICE Futures Canada dollars per tonne
Canola May 2014 451.20 -12.10 -2.61%
Canola Jul 2014 460.60 -12.70 -2.68%
Canola Nov 2014 475.40 -12.40 -2.54%
Canola Jan 2015 482.10 -12.30 -2.49%
Canola Mar 2015 488.50 -12.00 -2.40%
Milling Wheat May 2014 216.00 +1.00 +0.47%
Milling Wheat Jul 2014 214.00 +1.00 +0.47%
Milling Wheat Oct 2014 216.00 +1.00 +0.47%
Durum Wheat May 2014 250.00 unch 0.00%
Durum Wheat Jul 2014 250.00 unch 0.00%
Durum Wheat Oct 2014 252.00 unch 0.00%
Barley May 2014 139.50 +0.50 +0.36%
Barley Jul 2014 140.50 +0.50 +0.36%
Barley Oct 2014 140.50 +0.50 +0.36%
American crop prices in cents US/bushel, soybean meal in $US/short ton, soy oil in cents US/pound
Chicago
Soybeans May 2014 1479.75 -19 -1.27%
Soybeans Jul 2014 1470.75 -16.5 -1.11%
Soybeans Aug 2014 1397.25 -11.75 -0.83%
Soybeans Sep 2014 1278.25 -7.75 -0.60%
Soybeans Nov 2014 1215.5 -8.25 -0.67%
Soybeans Jan 2015 1221 -7.5 -0.61%
Soybean Meal May 2014 479.8 -5.9 -1.21%
Soybean Meal Jul 2014 470.3 -5.8 -1.22%
Soybean Meal Aug 2014 441.3 -3.5 -0.79%
Soybean Oil May 2014 42.74 -0.26 -0.60%
Soybean Oil Jul 2014 42.98 -0.28 -0.65%
Soybean Oil Aug 2014 42.9 -0.23 -0.53%
Corn May 2014 496.25 +7.75 +1.59%
Corn Jul 2014 502 +8.25 +1.67%
Corn Sep 2014 499 +7.5 +1.53%
Corn Dec 2014 495.75 +5.75 +1.17%
Corn Mar 2015 503.5 +5.5 +1.10%
Oats May 2014 406.25 +11 +2.78%
Oats Jul 2014 363.75 +16 +4.60%
Oats Sep 2014 347.25 +8.5 +2.51%
Oats Dec 2014 336.75 +10.75 +3.30%
Oats Mar 2015 335.5 +9.75 +2.99%
Wheat May 2014 673 +4.75 +0.71%
Wheat Jul 2014 679.5 +4 +0.59%
Wheat Sep 2014 689 +4 +0.58%
Wheat Dec 2014 703 +4.75 +0.68%
Wheat Mar 2015 716.75 +5.5 +0.77%
Minneapolis
Spring Wheat May 2014 720.25 +5.75 +0.80%
Spring Wheat Jul 2014 723.25 +3.75 +0.52%
Spring Wheat Sep 2014 729.75 +3.75 +0.52%
Spring Wheat Dec 2014 739.5 +3 +0.41%
Spring Wheat Mar 2015 746 +1.5 +0.20%
Kansas City
KC HRW Wheat May 2014 741.25 +7.25 +0.99%
KC HRW Wheat Jul 2014 746.75 +5 +0.67%
KC HRW Wheat Sep 2014 753.75 +4.5 +0.60%
KC HRW Wheat Dec 2014 764.5 +4.75 +0.63%
KC HRW Wheat Mar 2015 768.25 +5.5 +0.72%
Light crude oil nearby futures in New York dropped $2.24 at $102.13 US per barrel.
The Canadian dollar at noon was 90.69 cents US, down from 90.74 cents the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was $1.1026 Cdn.
In late session trade the TSX composite and major US stock indexes were trading higher.
U.S. stocks were supported by strong quarterly earning reports and merger and acquisition activity in the health care sector.
The Canadian market was supported by Canadian Pacific’s quarterly report showing strong profits. Also, the company said it could still meet its full-year targets despite the harsh winter.
