Canola submitted to the brutality of the outside markets Monday, dropping slightly, in a sign of relative strength amidst worldwide market weakness.
November Winnipeg canola futures fell $2.40 to $561 and January fell $2.00 to $569.10.
It was a wild day in the canola market, with the market opening lower, then rebounding amidst a rally in the Chicago soyoil market, then a late-day slump into the close, as the cascade of worry in the markets overwhelmed everything.
Equity markets worldwide fell heavily Monday, with the Standard and Poors 500 falling the most since mid-March with a 1.8 percent slide, and most stock markets around the world showing similar weakness.
European bond yields soared as the metastasizing debt crisis slowly ate away at confidence that duct tape and binder twine could somehow shore up the finances of a number of states. The euro currency fell, as did the Canadian loonie and many other currencies.
The U.S. dollar gained in value as investors rushed into the welcoming arms of the least worst financial asset. So too rose U.S. treasuries, with the 10-year dropping to less than three percent yield.
Commodities and especially agricultural commodities were hurt in the Monday mayhem. Cotton fell 4.4 percent in New York, while orange juice fell 2.4 percent. New York WTI crude fell 1.1 percent to $95.15 per barrel.
Chicago corn and wheat fell Monday, with wheat down 12 cents per bushel to $639.25. Soybeans edged up 50 cents in a rare example of strength.
While canola-specific factors did not dominate canola pricing Monday, steady demand from crushers and exporters helped hold off the bearish influence of reports of good crops coming in from much of Western Canada. The state of the prairie crop is still much in conjecture, with seeding date and quality a dog’s breakfast in much of the Prairies.
The Tuesday U.S. Department of Agriculture supply and demand report is being keenly anticipated, and many traders moved to the sidelines late in the trading session to reassess their sense of the market once they have the fresh numbers Tuesday morning.
Winnipeg (per tonne)
Canola Jul 11 $576.00, down $2.40
Canola Nov 11 $561.00, down $2.40
Canola Jan 12 $569.10, down $2.00
Canola Mar 12 $576.10, down $1.60
Western Barley Jul 11 $207.00, unchanged
Chicago (per bushel)
Soybeans Jul 11 $13.5250, up 0.50 cents
Soybeans Aug 11 $13.4650, down 0.25
Soybeans Nov 11 $13.4700, up 0.50
Corn Jul 11 $6.8150, up 9.25
Corn Dec 11 $6.3275, down 4.25
Oats Jul 11 $3.4600, up 0.50
Oats Dec 11 $3.5475, down 2.00
Minneapolis (per bushel)
Spring Wheat Jul 11 $8.1450, down 35.50 cents
Spring Wheat Sep 11 $7.9425, down 22.75
Spring Wheat Dec 11 $7.9825, down 18.50
