Canola futures rose Friday, supported by a weaker Canadian dollar and bargain hunting.
July closed at $579.80 per tonne, up $9.40, while new crop November closed at $565.90, up $2.50.
The gain helped the July contract stay almost steady for the week, falling only 0.2 percent, but November dropped $17.20 or almost three percent during the week.
The recent price decline and the weaker loonie prompted end user buying on Friday.
Corn and wheat futures fell Friday. The U.S. winter wheat harvest is in full force and there are rising expectations for wheat exports from the Black Sea region.
Crop futures in Chicago were generally under pressure from a rising U.S. dollar and continuing investor nervousness associated with the Greek debt problem.
Large speculators have slashed their net long position in corn futures and options to the lowest level in nearly a year. Speculators are net short in Chicago wheat.
Corn closed down 4.4 percent for the week and down 16.3 percent from its record high of $7.9975 set two weeks ago. There was lingering downward pressure from the sharp drop in crude oil prices after the International Energy Agency and the United States surprised the market Thursday by agreeing to release 60 million barrels of strategic oil reserves over the next 30 days. The move was designed to stimulate economic growth, which has suffered from issues such as high fuel prices, the earthquake in Japan and debt problems in Europe.
Corn and soybeans are also under pressure from generally favourable growing conditions in the U.S. Midwest.
Corn has fallen below long-term trend lines and is technically weak. If the USDA reports on acreage and stocks due June 30 are bearish, there is a chance for prices to drop lower again.
The weaker canola price encouraged crushers to ramp up operations.
The Canadian Oilseed Processors Association said that in the week ending June 22 members crushed 122,504 tonnes of canola, an increase of almost 13 percent from the week before.
Winnipeg (per tonne)
Canola Jul 11 $579.80, up $9.40
Canola Nov 11 $565.90, up $2.50
Canola Jan 12 $573.00, up $3.10
Canola Mar 12 $577.20, up $2.00
The previous day’s best basis is $0 under the July contract according to ICE Futures Canada in Winnipeg.
The July contract’s 14-day Relative Strength Index was 48. The rule of thumb is an RSI of 30 indicates an over sold market and 70 indicates an over bought market.
Western Barley Jul 11 $205, unchanged
Chicago (per bushel)
Soybeans Jul 11 $13.2025, up 2.5 cents
Soybeans Aug 11 $13.15, down 1.0
Soybeans Nov 11 $13.0925, down 8.0
Corn Jul 11 $6.70, down 10.5
Corn Dec 11 $6.32, down 14.0
Oats Jul 11 $3.355, down 13.25
Oats Dec 11 $3.48, down 13.25
Minneapolis (per bushel)
Spring Wheat Jul 11 $8.26, down 18.0 cents
Spring Wheat Sep 11 $8.185, down 17.0
Spring Wheat Dec 11 $8.2375, down 14.5
Light crude oil nearby futures in New York rose 14 cents to $91.13 US per barrel, but Brent crude continued to drop.
The Canadian dollar at noon was $1.0153 US, down from $1.0205 the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was 98.45 cents Cdn.
The Toronto Stock Exchange composite index unofficially closed ended down 70.69 points, or 0.54 percent, at 12,908.89.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 15.05 points, or 1.17 percent, to finish unofficially at 1,268.45.
For the week, the TSX composite rose one percent, the Dow slipped 0.58 percent, the S&P 500 declined 0.24 percent and the Nasdaq gained 1.39 percent.
