Canola futures again settled above $600 per tonne on Friday, capping a week when it gained 1.5 percent
The contract was supported by slow farmer selling and good buying by crushers and exporters.
Wheat markets surged on strong exports of U.S. wheat, more flooding in Australia and very cold weather in the U.S. hard red winter wheat area, which is suffering from dry weather.
North African and Middle Eastern countries, which are facing protests over high food costs, have been big wheat buyers this week.
Analysts believe the exportable surplus from Europe is narrowing and prices there are rising to the point where more buyers are turning to the United States.
Corn was modestly higher and soybeans were mixed.
Analytical firm Informa Economics forecast U.S. corn area will climb to 90.903 million acres. Last month it forecast 90.755 million. In 2010, U.S. farmers planted 88.2 million acres to corn.
Traders had expected the corn number to be even higher and pushed corn prices up.
Informa forecast soybean seedings at 76.654 million acres, down from 77.565 million in December and 77.4 million last year.
Traders also expected the soybean acreage to be higher and that supported new crop soybean prices, but nearby contracts fell because of improving conditions in Argentina.
An expansion of the number of cars and truck approved to us 15 percent ethanol should expand the use of corn in biofuel production.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today approved gasoline containing 15 percent ethanol for vehicles built from 2001 to 2006. In October it approved the mix for vehicles built in 2007 and later, so now the fuel can be used to power more than 60 percent of vehicles on U.S. roads.
Reuters reported that Algeria bought 600,000 tonnes of durum this week, 400,000 of it from Canada. The story said traders believe the price paid was close to $490 per tonne, cost and freight included.
It also said Algeria was in talks with the Canadian Wheat Board for further amounts.
In Winnipeg, March canola rose $1.70 to $601.60 on 12,001 trades. For the week, the contract rose $8.90.
May rose $2.10 on Friday to $609.80.
The November 2011 contract rose 60 cents to $566.60.
The previous day’s best basis was $26.20 under the March contract according to ICE Futures Canada in Winnipeg.
The March contract 14-day Relative Strength Index was 63. 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. May was steady at $200 per tonne.
Chicago March soybeans fell two cents to $14.1225 per bushel.
March corn rose 3.25 cents to $6.5725 per bu.
March oats rose four cents to $3.86 per bu.
March Minneapolis hard spring wheat rose 17.25 cents to $9.3725 per bu.
In New York, crude oil for February delivery fell 48 cents to $88.11 US per barrel.
The Canadian dollar at noon was back above par at $1.0055 US, up from 99.99 cents the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was 99.45 cents Cdn.
The Toronto Stock Exchange composite index was down 72.75 points at 13,258.57.
Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 3.09 points at 1,283.35.
For the week, the TSX composite was down 0.8 percent, the Dow rose 0.7 percent, the S&P 500 lost 0.8 percent and the Nasdaq dropped 2.4 percent.
The Canadian Oilseeds Processors Association reported that members crushed 112,820 tonnes in the week ending Jan. 19, down 3.2 percent from the week before.
