Canola edges higher, KC wheat jumps three percent

A cold shock in the southern U.S. Plains and the heat of political and civil conflict in Ukraine drove wheat prices higher Monday.

Kansas City wheat futures reflected the cold damage most, with the May contract risng 22 cents per bushel or more than three percent.

Chicago May wheat rose 18 cents and Minneapolis spring wheat rose 15 cents per bushel.

Other crop futures also rose but less aggressively, with soybeans climbing more than one percent but canola rising only about 0.65 percent.

Oat futures were the weakest of the North American prairie crops, staying unchanged for the May contract and rising two cents for the July.

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The U.S. hard red winter wheat crop was already in poor condition before a cold snap took temperatures well below freezing Sunday night and Monday morning, with forecasts of more dangerous lows for Monday night and Tuesday morning.

The HRWW crop suffered with cold and dry soils for most of the winter, but is particularly vulnerable now. Many crops are in the jointing stage and that exposes them to freeze damage.

U.S. spring crops are beginning to be planted in the southern Plains and Midwest U.S.

Continued strife in Ukraine has markets fretting that Ukrainian and Russian grain exports could be disrupted and production for 2014 damaged.

Not only could shipments be affected by turmoil, but farmers might either not be able to use the inputs they want when they want, or might pull back from investing in their crops because of uncertainty. Also, Ukraine’s devalued currency makes imported inputs expensive.

Corn might be most affected because it is not yet seeded and it requires more inputs than other spring crops such as barley.

The Ukrainian situation continues to hang over markets. Some analysts say Ukraine’s winter wheat crop is in poor condition, suffering from dry weather, but a CWB analyst visiting the country said many areas got good rain in recent days.

Rather than fading after the Crimean annexation, tensions in large parts of eastern Ukraine are spreading, with no sign of Russia or ethnic Russian forces in many areas backing away from pushing secession from Ukraine. Continued instability going into spring is likely to roil markets more as crucial field operations begin.

Winnipeg ICE Futures Canada dollars per tonne

Canola May 2014    464.00    +3.00    +0.65%
Canola Jul 2014    473.00    +2.90    +0.62%
Canola Nov 2014    487.30    +2.70    +0.56%
Canola Jan 2015    494.20    +2.60    +0.53%

Canola Mar 2015    501.00    +2.70    +0.54%

Milling Wheat May 2014    217.00    +6.00    +2.84%
Milling Wheat Jul 2014    215.00    +6.00    +2.87%
Milling Wheat Oct 2014    218.00    +6.00    +2.83%

Durum Wheat May 2014    250.00    unch    0.00%
Durum Wheat Jul 2014    250.00    unch    0.00%
Durum Wheat Oct 2014    252.00    unch    0.00%

Barley May 2014    138.50    +1.00    +0.73%
Barley Jul 2014    136.50    +1.00    +0.74%
Barley Oct 2014    136.50    +1.00    +0.74%

American crop prices in cents US/bushel, soybean meal in $US/short ton, soy oil in cents US/pound

Chicago
Soybeans May 2014    1476.25    +13.25    +0.91%
Soybeans Jul 2014    1463.5    +16.25    +1.12%
Soybeans Aug 2014    1392.25    +13.25    +0.96%
Soybeans Sep 2014    1277    +9.25    +0.73%
Soybeans Nov 2014    1220    +5.25    +0.43%
Soybeans Jan 2015    1225.25    +5    +0.41%

Soybean Meal May 2014    479.1    +6.2    +1.31%
Soybean Meal Jul 2014    468.6    +5.5    +1.19%
Soybean Meal Aug 2014    442.4    +4.8    +1.10%

Soybean Oil May 2014    42.26    +0.16    +0.38%
Soybean Oil Jul 2014    42.46    +0.2    +0.47%
Soybean Oil Aug 2014    42.29    +0.21    +0.50%

Corn May 2014    503    +4.5    +0.90%
Corn Jul 2014    509.25    +4.75    +0.94%
Corn Sep 2014    506.75    +4.25    +0.85%
Corn Dec 2014    503.5    +4.25    +0.85%
Corn Mar 2015    511    +4    +0.79%

Oats May 2014    403.5    unch    0.00%
Oats Jul 2014    357.5    +2    +0.56%
Oats Sep 2014    340.5    -2.75    -0.80%
Oats Dec 2014    332.25    +1    +0.30%
Oats Mar 2015    329.5    -0.25    -0.08%

Wheat May 2014    678.75    +18.5    +2.80%

Wheat Jul 2014    686.75    +18.5    +2.77%
Wheat Sep 2014    696.25    +18.25    +2.69%
Wheat Dec 2014    709    +17.25    +2.49%
Wheat Mar 2015    721    +16.75    +2.38%

Minneapolis
Spring Wheat May 2014    717.25    +15.5    +2.21%
Spring Wheat Jul 2014    725.75    +16.25    +2.29%
Spring Wheat Sep 2014    731.75    +16.25    +2.27%
Spring Wheat Dec 2014    743.25    +16.75    +2.31%
Spring Wheat Mar 2015    751    +15.75    +2.14%

Kansas City
KC HRW Wheat May 2014    742    +22.5    +3.13%
KC HRW Wheat Jul 2014    748.25    +22.25    +3.06%
KC HRW Wheat Sep 2014    755.25    +20.75    +2.83%
KC HRW Wheat Dec 2014    765    +19.75    +2.65%
KC HRW Wheat Mar 2015    769.25    +18.75    +2.50%

Light crude oil nearby futures in New York rose 31 cents at $104.05 US per barrel.

The Canadian dollar at noon was 91.16 cents US, down from 91.24 cents the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was $1.0970 Cdn.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 26.74 points, or 0.19 percent, at 14,284.43.

The Dow Jones industrial average shot up 146.49 points, or 0.91 percent, to end at 16,173.24.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 14.92 points, or 0.82 percent, to finish at 1,830.61.

The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 22.96 points, or 0.57 percent, to close at 4,022.69.