Winnipeg March canola futures slipped on Friday, but posted a gain of $6.60 per tonne on the week.
Canola was pressured by light profit taking and increased hedges during the day.
Commodity markets generally retreated on China’s decision to further raise lenders’ reserve rate requirements. Beijing has taken this step several times in recent months to try to reign in inflation.
Markets will watch to see if dry Argentina gets the rain forecast for this weekend.
Regular rain in Brazil is producing good crops, but moisture is excess in some areas, raising the possibility of Asian rust disease. However, farmers are more familiar with the disease these days and better equipped to contain it if it starts to spread.
Canadian oilseed processors crushed 116,518 tonnes in the week ending Jan. 12, bouncing back six percent from the previous week.
The crush is running almost a million tonnes, or about 54 percent, ahead of last year at this point.
Analysts speaking at Crop Production Week in Saskatoon this week were generally bullish on canola markets and said the battle for acres this spring will likely push prices higher. However, they warned factors outside the grain markets, such as China’s policies to fight inflation, have the potential to lower prices at times and cause price volatility.
In Winnipeg on Friday, March canola fell $3.10 to $592.70 on 7,335 trades.
The January canola contract expired at $582.70 per tonne on seven trades, down $6.60.
The November 2011 contract fell $1.80 to $550.20.
The previous day’s best basis was $23 under the March contract according to ICE Futures Canada in Winnipeg.
The March contract 14-day Relative Strength Index was 61. The rule of thumb is an RSI of 30 indicates an over sold market and 70 indicates an over bought market.
March barley futures were steady and untraded at $194. There are only two contracts in open interest.
Chicago March soybeans rose 6.5 cent to $14.225.
March corn rose 6.25 cents to $6.4875 per bu.
March oats fell 4.5 cents to $3.92 per bu.
March Minneapolis hard spring wheat fell 3.5 cents to $8.9025 per bu.
In New York, crude oil for February delivery rose 14 cents to $91.54 US per barrel.
The Canadian dollar at noon was $1.0097 US, down from $1.0134 the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was 99.04 cents Cdn.
The Toronto Stock Exchange composite index rose 62.58 points to 13,464.06.
Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 9.48 points at 1,293.24.
