Canola touched the psychologically important $600 level this morning but indicated technical weakness when it was unable to hang on and closed the day lower on profit taking.
A negative pressure on prices is that canola crushers have been cutting their production due to weaker margins.
Also, there was downward pressure from falling European rapeseed and Malaysian palm oil, which is in oversupply.
Canola fell despite support from soybeans, which rose on forecasts for heavy rain in Argentina this week that will worsen flooding problems that are limiting seeding.
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Wheat initially rose on the first U.S. sale to Egypt in several months but drifted back later on thoughts that U.S. wheat is still overpriced compared to other sources.
After the market closed, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences issued its updated crop production forecasts.
It expects wheat production will fall 26 percent from last year to 22 million tonnes. Barley will be down 18 percent to 6.9 million tonnes and canola down 16 percent to 2.6 million tonnes.
The wheat forecast was lowered from an estimate of 22.54 million tonnes in September.
Winnipeg (per tonne)
Canola Jan 13Â $591.90, down $2.40Â Â Â Â Â Â -0.40%
Canola Mar 13Â $591.50, down $2.60Â Â Â Â Â Â -0.44%
Canola May 13Â $590.80, down $1.80Â Â Â Â Â Â -0.30%
Canola Jul 13Â $587.40, down $1.70Â Â Â Â Â Â -0.29%
Milling Wheat Dec 12 Â $300.60, unchanged
Milling Wheat Mar 13Â $308.60, unchanged
Milling Wheat May 13Â $311.60, unchanged
Durum Wheat Dec 12Â $312.00, unchanged
Durum Wheat Mar 13Â $316.00, unchanged
Durum Wheat May 13Â $320.00, unchanged
Barley Dec 12Â $245.00, unchanged
Barley Mar 13Â $248.00, unchanged
Barley May 13Â $249.00, unchanged
Chicago (per bushel)
Soybeans (P) Jan 13Â $14.5375, up 15.0Â Â Â Â Â Â +1.04%
Soybeans (P) Mar 13Â $14.4825, up 15.75Â Â Â Â Â Â +1.10%
Soybeans (P) May 13Â $14.27, up 17.25Â Â Â Â Â Â +1.22%
Soybeans (P) Jul 13Â $14.1675, up 16.25Â Â Â Â Â Â +1.16%
Corn (P) Dec 12Â $7.49, up 1.0Â Â Â Â Â Â +0.13%
Corn (P) Mar 13Â $7.5475, up 2.0Â Â Â Â Â Â +0.27%
Corn (P) May 13Â $7.5425, up 2.25Â Â Â Â Â Â +0.30%
Oats (P) Dec 12Â $3.6675, up 6.0Â Â Â Â Â Â +1.66%
Oats (P) Mar 13Â $3.845, up 5.75Â Â Â Â Â Â +1.52%
Oats (P) May 13Â $3.89, up 6.25Â Â Â Â Â Â +1.63%
Minneapolis (per bushel)
Spring Wheat Dec 12Â $9.125, down 6.0Â Â Â Â Â Â -0.65%
Spring Wheat Mar 13Â $9.3225, down 4.5Â Â Â Â Â Â -0.48%
Spring Wheat May 13Â $9.4125, down 5.0Â Â Â Â Â Â -0.53%
Spring Wheat Jul 13Â $9.455, down 2.75Â Â Â Â Â Â -0.29%
The Bank of Canada’s noon rate for the loonie was $1.0073, up from $1.0068 the day before.
The U.S. dollar was 99.28 cents Cdn.
Nearby light crude oil in New York rose 18 cents to $89.09 per barrel.
The pace of U.S. manufacturing surprisingly stalled in November, the Institute for Supply Management said, dropping to its lowest level in more than three years.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index fell 69.62 points, or 0.57 percent, to close at 12,169.74.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 59.98 points, or 0.46 percent, to close at 12,965.60.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped 6.72 points, or 0.47 percent, to 1,409.46.
The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 8.04 points, or 0.27 percent, to finish at 3,002.20.