Canola holds ground as USDA report knocks soybeans down

By 
Ed White
Reading Time: 3 minutes

Published: September 30, 2013

Canola futures held on Monday in the face of a soybean price beatdown following Sept. 1 stocks reports from the  U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Canola prices fell only about five cents per bushel on both the November and January contracts, while soybeans fell 37 and 36 cents per bushel on the respective contracts.
Soybean oil futuress also slumped almost two percent, making canola’s stickiness more impressive.
But broker Ken Ball of P.I. Financial in Winnipeg said he doubts it can last.
“It’s unlikely that canola will be able to maintain that sort of relative strength,” said Ball.

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U.S. grains: Soy hits four-month high on hopes for China trade deal

U.S. soybean futures jumped to their highest level in more than four months on Monday on hopes that China will resume buying American supplies after President Donald Trump said the countries were set to reach a trade deal during his trip to Asia this week.

USDA issued a stocks report Monday that found more soybeans in store than most traders expected. That triggered a selling fit by speculative funds, which have a heavy long position in the futures market, quickly knocking prices low.
Other crops futures weren’t hurt nearly as much as soybeans, with few major knocks to analyst expectations.
Wheat was the most interesting category, with USDA cutting hard red winter wheat stocks but increasing both soft red winter and hard red spring wheat stocks. The total pile of wheat in store is about the same, but the USDA findings sent traders scurrying to buy Kansas City futures and dump Minneapolis and Chicago in a spread play.
Of the major crop futures contracts on North American exchanges, only Kansas City wheat and December oats rose, on a day in which the grains class was the weakest of the commodities complex.
Stock markets were sharply off as the U.S. government appeared to be stumbling toward a forced shutdown for the first time in 17 years. Markets were anxious about the economic impact of thousands of workers being laid off, crucial services being disrupted and unintended consequences occurring.

ICE Futures Canada, dollars per tonne

Canola Nov 13    481.70    -2.30    -0.48%
Canola Jan 14    491.00    -2.30    -0.47%
Canola Mar 14    498.20    -2.40    -0.48%
Canola May 14    504.60    -2.10    -0.41%
Canola Jul 14    510.30    -2.00    -0.39%

Milling Wheat Oct 13    236.00    -3.00    -1.26%
Milling Wheat Dec 13    240.00    -2.00    -0.83%
Milling Wheat Mar 14    245.00    -3.00    -1.21%

Durum Wheat Oct 13    243.00    unch    unch
Durum Wheat Dec 13    247.00    unch    unch
Durum Wheat Mar 14    253.00    unch    unch

Barley Oct 13    148.30    -10.00    -6.32%

Barley Dec 13    151.30    -10.00    -6.20%
Barley Mar 14    153.30    -10.00    -6.12%

American crop prices in cents US/bushel, soybean meal in $US/short ton, soy oil in cents US/pound
-2 is .25, -4 is .5 and -6 is .75

Chicago
Soybeans Nov 13    1282.75    -37-0    -2.80%
Soybeans Jan 14    1285.00    -36-4    -2.76%
Soybeans Mar 14    1267.00    -31-4    -2.43%
Soybeans May 14    1248.50    -24-6    -1.94%
Soybeans Jul 14    1241.75    -22-6    -1.80%

Soybean Meal Oct 13    409.90    -10.0    -2.38%
Soybean Meal Dec 13    405.40    -12.9    -3.08%
Soybean Meal Jan 14    403.30    -12.9    -3.10%

Soybean Oil Oct 13    40.83    -0.68    -1.64%
Soybean Oil Dec 13    41.10    -0.71    -1.70%
Soybean Oil Jan 14    41.40    -0.71    -1.69%

Corn Dec 13    441.50    -12-4    -2.75%
Corn Mar 14    454.50    -12-0    -2.57%
Corn May 14    462.25    -12-2    -2.58%
Corn Jul 14    469.00    -12-0    -2.49%
Corn Sep 14    473.75    -10-6    -2.22%

Oats Dec 13    319.25    +2-4    +0.79%
Oats Mar 14    306.00    -4-6    -1.53%
Oats May 14    302.75    -8-6    -2.81%

Oats Jul 14    297.75    -10-6    -3.48%
Oats Sep 14    302.75    -10-6    -3.43%

Wheat Dec 13    678.50    -4-4    -0.66%
Wheat Mar 14    687.00    -4-4    -0.65%
Wheat May 14    689.75    -4-4    -0.65%
Wheat Jul 14    677.00    -7-2    -1.06%
Wheat Sep 14    681.50    -7-0    -1.02%

Minneapolis
Spring Wheat Dec 13    728.75    -2-6    -0.38%
Spring Wheat Mar 14    738.00    -2-6    -0.37%
Spring Wheat May 14    741.00    -3-2    -0.44%
Spring Wheat Jul 14    745.50    unch    unch
Spring Wheat Sep 14    746.50    -2-4    -0.33%

Kansas City
KCBT Red Wheat Dec 13    739.50    +7-6    +1.06%
KCBT Red Wheat Mar 14    740.25    +7-2    +0.99%
KCBT Red Wheat May 14    739.25    +5-4    +0.75%
KCBT Red Wheat Jul 14    719.25    +2-6    +0.38%

KCBT Red Wheat Sep 14    725.00    +2-6    +0.38%

Light crude oil nearby futures in New York dropped 16 cents at $102.87 US per barrel.
The Bank of Canada noon rate for the loonie was 97.23 cents US, up from 97.09 cents the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was $1.0285 Cdn.
In unofficial tallies —
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index closed down 56.89 points, or 0.44 percent, at 12,787.19.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 128.57 points, or 0.84 percent, at 15,129.67.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was down 10.20 points, or 0.60 percent, at 1,681.55.
The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 10.12 points, or 0.27 percent, at 3,771.48.
For the month, the Dow rose 2.2 percent and the Nasdaq added 5.1 percent. For the quarter, the Dow was up 1.5 percent while the S&P 500 gained 4.7 percent.

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Ed White

Ed White

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