Improving investor optimism, talk of new soybean exports and continued worry over South American production lifted canola futures on Thursday.
The March contract settled at $526.
Talk of new Chinese demand for soybeans supported oilseed futures.
The deep freeze is slowing canola deliveries in Canada.
• While southern Brazil has suffered from the same drought affecting Argentina and Paraguay, the No. 1 soybean state of Mato Grosso in central Brazil has had too much rain. Early seeded soybeans there are ready to harvest but the rain is delaying the cut. There has been no damage yet, but rain is forecast daily for the next five days.
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• Argentina is trying to assess damage done to its crop by hot dry weather. Irregular rain is providing some relief, but the corn crop is damaged and some soybeans will not be seeded.
• Spanish and French government bond auctions went better than expected, giving hope that the European debt crisis is starting to find a little stability. That caused the euro to rise and the U.S. dollar to fall. A weaker buck lifts U.S. grain futures.
• The International Grains Council raised its assessment of the global 2011-12 harvest.
The IGC increased the corn crop outlook by eight million tonnes to a record 861 million.
China’s corn crop would reach 191.8 million tonnes, up from a previous estimate of 183 million and the prior season’s 177.3 million.
Ukraine’s corn crop was boosted to 21 million tonnes, up from a previous forecast of 19 million and sharply above last season’s 11.5 million.
The global wheat crop was pegged at a record 690 million tonnes, up seven million from its previous forecast thanks to better than expected production in Argentina and Australia and upward revisions for China and Kazakhstan.
Winnipeg (per tonne)
Canola Mar 12 $526.00, up $4.50 (+0.86%)
Canola May 12 $529.30, up $5.10 (+0.97%)
Canola Jul 12 $528.90, up $5.40 (+1.03%)
Canola Nov 13 $505, up $5.00 (+1.00%)
The previous trading day’s best basis was $12.00 per tonne off the March contract, said the ICE Futures Canada exchange in Winnipeg.
The January contract’s 14-day Relative Strength Index was 56.
Western Barley Mar 12 $212.00, unchanged
Chicago (per bushel)
Soybeans Mar 12 $11.97, up 13.5 cents (+1.14%)
Soybeans May 12 $12.0425, up 12.0 (+1.01%)
Soybeans Nov 12 $11.9425, up 8.25 (+0.70%)
Corn Mar 12 $6.06, up 12.5 (+2.11%)
Corn Dec 12 $5.57, up 8.25 (+1.50%)
Oats Mar 12 $2.9275, up 8.5 (+2.99%)
Oats Dec 12 $3.0475, up 5.25 (+1.75%)
Minneapolis (per bushel)
Spring Wheat Mar 12 $7.99, down 1.75 cents (-0.22%)
Spring Wheat May 12 $7.8425, up 1.0 (+0.13%)
Spring Wheat Dec 12 $7.595, up 0.75 (+0.10%)
Nearby light crude oil in New York fell 20 cents to settle at $100.39 barrel.
The Canadian dollar at noon was 99.06 cents US, up from 98.62 the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was $1.0095 Cdn.
The good euro zone bond sales, strong U.S. bank profits and good U.S. employment news lifted stock markets.
The Toronto Stock Exchange composite unofficially closed up 53.17 points, or 0.43 percent, at 12,380.69.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 45.03 points, or 0.36 percent, to end unofficially at 12,623.98. The S&P 500 Index gained 6.46 points, or 0.49 percent, to 1,314.50. The Nasdaq Composite added 18.62 points, or 0.67 percent, to 2,788.33.
