It was another bad day for canola futures as crop futures fell pretty much across the board on thoughts that grain supplies are ample.
Canola keeps breaking below technical support levels, triggering further selling. Farmer panic selling added downward pressure through the week.
The record large Canadian canola crop, coupled with inadequate ability to move it to port, is weighing on canola futures. The prospect of a huge South American soybean crop is also negative for prices.
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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.
A stronger loonie today, as currency market position ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve meeting, added to the downward pressure on canola today
January closed at $439.90, down $8.20 or 1.83 percent. ICE Futures Canada says the best basis yesterday on the January contract was -$40, $10 wider than the previous week.
March closed at $450.30, down $8.30 or 1.81 percent.
Over the week, January canola fell 6.8 percent, its biggest weekly loss in five months. March fell 6.5 percent.
Soybeans staged a late rally today to close slightly higher. Over the week, January soybeans were almost flat and soy oil fell 1.6 percent.
Soybean oil dipped today. Palm oil also fell on concern that demand might fall off as the weather cools and as soybean oil fall, presenting a competitive option.
December soy meal staged a wild run up as the contract expired.
Reuters reported Spot December soy meal surged in its final minutes of trade, rising $50.60 to go off the board at a contract high of $510 per ton, the highest spot price since July 23. However, the contract settled at $462.90, up $3.50, based on its spread relationship to the January contract, traders said.
Other commodities are also falling, pressured by thoughts that recent favourable reports on U.S. economic activity will prompt the United States Federal Reserve to start trimming its simulative bond buying policy.
Nearby corn fell two percent today, as traders worried China’s strict checks for an unapproved strain of U.S. GM corn in cargoes are likely to continue until early next year as Beijing seeks to curb cheap imports and support domestic corn prices, industry sources said on Friday. So far it has rejected three cargoes.
Reuters reported the U.S. is sending a delegation, including agriculture department secretary Tom Vilsack, to Beijing next week to discuss trade issues.
U.S. exporters are concerned some shipments of dried distillers’ grain, a corn byproduct, may also be rejected for the same reason, trade sources told Reuters.
The Canadian Oilseed Processors Association said members crushed 139,865 tonnes of canola in the week ending Dec. 11, down a disappointing 5.6 percent from the week before.
That represented an 80 percent capacity use.
Late this afternoon the Canadian grain Commission issued its weekly grain movement report to Dec. 8.
Wheat farmer deliveries this week 329,700 tonnes (previous week 436,000)
Wheat exports this week 395,800 tonnes (previous week 235,700)
Canola farmer deliveries this week 251,900 tonnes (previous week 345,200)
Canola exports this week 137,500 tonnes (previous week 81,500)
Winnipeg ICE Futures Canada dollars per tonne
Contract Settlement Change Change %
Canola Jan 2014 439.90 -8.20 -1.83%
Canola Mar 2014 450.30 -8.30 -1.81%
Canola May 2014 459.00 -8.80 -1.88%
Canola Jul 2014 466.10 -9.40 -1.98%
Canola Nov 2014 478.20 -8.60 -1.77%
Milling Wheat Mar 2014 190.00 -2.00 –
Milling Wheat May 2014 201.00 -1.00 –
Milling Wheat Jul 2014 211.00 -1.00 –
Durum Wheat Mar 2014 242.00 -1.00 –
Durum Wheat May 2014 248.00 -1.00 –
Durum Wheat Jul 2014 252.00 -1.00 –
Barley Mar 2014 155.00 0.00 0.00%
Barley May 2014 157.00 0.00 .000%
Barley Jul 2014 158.00 0.00 0.00%
American crop prices in cents US/bushel, soybean meal in $US/short ton, soy oil in cents US/pound
Chicago
Soybeans Jan 2014 1327.5 +3.75 +0.28%
Soybeans Mar 2014 1313.75 +2.25 +0.17%
Soybeans May 2014 1297 +2 +0.15%
Soybeans Jul 2014 1284 +0.75 +0.06%
Soybeans Aug 2014 1254 unch 0.00%
Soybeans Sep 2014 1197.25 -1 -0.08%
Soybean Meal Jan 2014 432.6 +2.5 +0.58%
Soybean Meal Mar 2014 423.2 +1.7 +0.40%
Soybean Meal May 2014 412.7 +1.6 +0.39%
Soybean Oil Jan 2014 39.83 -0.16 -0.40%
Soybean Oil Mar 2014 40.2 -0.17 -0.42%
Soybean Oil May 2014 40.59 -0.19 -0.47%
Corn Mar 2014 425.5 -8.75 -2.01%
Corn May 2014 433.75 -8.75 -1.98%
Corn Jul 2014 440.75 -8.5 -1.89%
Corn Sep 2014 446 -9 -1.98%
Corn Dec 2014 452.5 -9 -1.95%
Oats Mar 2014 340 -11.75 -3.34%
Oats May 2014 321.5 -13.25 -3.96%
Oats Jul 2014 318 -14.75 -4.43%
Oats Sep 2014 318.25 -14.75 -4.43%
Oats Dec 2014 310 -5 -1.59%
Wheat Mar 2014 628.75 -5 -0.79%
Wheat May 2014 634.75 -5.5 -0.86%
Wheat Jul 2014 637 -5.25 -0.82%
Wheat Sep 2014 646 -5.75 -0.88%
Wheat Dec 2014 660 -5.25 -0.79%
Minneapolis
Spring Wheat Mar 2014 660.5 -3.5 -0.53%
Spring Wheat May 2014 671.5 -3.25 -0.48%
Spring Wheat Jul 2014 681.5 -3.25 -0.47%
Spring Wheat Sep 2014 690.75 -3.5 -0.50%
Spring Wheat Dec 2014 702 -5 -0.71%
Kansas City
KCBT Red Wheat Mar 2014 672.5 -5.75 -0.85%
KCBT Red Wheat May 2014 675.75 -6.25 -0.92%
KCBT Red Wheat Jul 2014 674.25 -5.5 -0.81%
KCBT Red Wheat Sep 2014 684 -5.75 -0.83%
KCBT Red Wheat Dec 2014 695.5 -5.25 -0.75%
Light crude oil nearby futures in New York fell 90 cents at $96.60 US per barrel.
The Bank of Canada noon rate for the loonie was 94.38 cents US, up from 93.98 cents the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was $1.0595 Cdn.
In early unofficial tallies —
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index closed up 11.31 points, or 0.09 percent, at 13,125.70.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 15.93 points or 0.1 percent, to 15,755.36.
The S&P 500 lost 0.18 points or 0.01 percent, to 1,775.32 and the Nasdaq Composite added 2.572 points or 0.06 percent, to 4,000.975.
For the week, the TSX composite fell 1.2 percent, the Dow fell 1.7 percent, the S&P 500 fell 1.7 percent and the Nasdaq Composite slumped 1.5 percent.
