Canola lower, but poor Dakota yields lift wheat

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Published: August 17, 2011

Testing Cattle for BSE (Mad Cow Disease) this winter – 2010-2011

Oilseeds were pulled lower by a weak stock market and lower crude oil prices but spring wheat futures rose on news of disappointing yields as the combines roll in South Dakota.

Also, there has been rain in North Dakota that will delay harvest.

Traders generally backed off of commodities and stocks as a report of weak GDP growth in Germany fanned worries about the weak global economy.

Canola price declines were limited by cool temperatures in Alberta last night and another cool patch coming on Friday, highlighting the fact of a delayed crop and the risk of frost.

November canola closed at $554.00 per tonne, down $1.50

Statistics Canada will release its production outlook based on farmer surveys on Aug. 24. The Canadian Wheat Board will release its August Pool Return Outlook the following day.

In a move designed with the end of the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly in mind, the Minneapolis Grain Exchange said today it would allow wheat from outside the United States to be delivered against its hard red spring wheat futures contract. The change will be effective no later than the May 2013 contract month.

Winnipeg (per tonne)

Canola Nov 11        $554.00, down $1.50

Canola Jan 12        $562.40, down $1.50

Canola Mar 12        $569.60, down $1.60

Canola May 12        $575.40, down $1.20

The previous day’s best basis was $10.01 under the November contract according to ICE Futures Canada in Winnipeg.

Western Barley Oct 11        $199.00, down $1.00

Chicago (per bushel)

Soybeans Sep 11        $13.40, down 3.5 cents

Soybeans Nov 11        $13.495, down 1.75

Soybeans Jan 12        $13.6025, down 2.0

Corn Sep 11        $7.14, up 6.75

Corn Dec 11        $7.275, up 7.5

Oats Sep 11        $3.48, up 1.5

Oats Dec 11        $3.595, up 1.5

Minneapolis (per bushel)

Spring Wheat Sep 11 $8.9625, up 23.5 cents

Spring Wheat Dec 11        $8.935, up 19.25

Spring Wheat Mar 12        $8.965, up 17.0

Light crude oil nearby futures in New York fell $1.23 to $86.65 US per barrel.

The Canadian dollar at noon was $1.0186 US, up from $1.0165 the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was 98.17 cents Cdn.

U.S. industrial output data for July showed the biggest gain in seven months as the auto sector bounced back from supply disruptions wrought by the earthquake in Japan in March.

However the market focused more a report from Germany showing GDP growth slowed to a mere 0.1 percent in the April to June period, the weakest quarterly rate since 2009.

Also, German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Nicolas Sarkozy who met today disappointed traders by failing to deliver a big announcement on how to address Europe’s government debt problems.

The Toronto Stock Exchange composite index closed down 152.90 points, or 1.2 percent, at 12,530.71.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was down 11.76 points, or 0.98 percent, at 1,192.73.

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