It was a “risk on” day again in markets and canola trading higher Thursday, although gains were capped by a stronger loonie.
July canola closed at $614.90, up $6.70.
November was trading at $571.70, up $10.40.
Markets were buoyed by a surprise reduction in interest rates in China as it attempts to stimulate its economy that is slowing more quickly than expected.
The benefit of the Chinese move was weakened though when U.S. central bank chair Ben Bernanke today said the bank would act if economic troubles worsen, but offered no word on imminent monetary stimulus.
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The International Grains Council on Thursday maintained its forecast for 2025/26 global corn production with a slightly improved outlook for crops in the United States offset by downward revisions for Hungary and Romania.
A weekly read on U.S. job market showed that the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell last week, the first time since April. This raised hope that the jobs slowdown of the past month might be temporary.
German chancellor Angela Merkel said her country is prepared to support using all instruments available to maintain stability in the euro zone.
The leaders of U.S., Britain, Canada and Japan have all urged European leaders to treat the situation as an immediate crisis requiring urgent action.
• Saskatchewan Agriculture said today that 91 percent of the crop was seeded as of June 5, up from the five year average of 86 percent.
The east central area is the farthest behind at 84 percent completion.
• Weather in the Midwest is expected to warm up next week and showers are likely to be spotty, which could stress the corn crop.
Western Canada faces a wet, cool period beginning this weekend and lasting into next week.
• The Buenos Aires Grains Exchange forecast wheat seeded area will fall to 3.8 million hectares this year on uncertainty among farmers and recent flooding.
USDA put last year’s harvested area at five million hectares.
Argentine farmers are conducting a sales strike this week, squeezing the amount of grain that is exported. They are protesting rising property taxes
• India’s farmers are awaiting the arrival of this year’s monsoon. It was to arrive last week and rain did fall on western areas but it has been slow to spread across the country. It is only the first week of the four month monsoon, but it is closely watched because hold off seeding until the rain comes.
India recently harvested a good wheat crop and there is now a record 50.2 million tonnes in government warehouses.
Total grain in storage is 82.4 million tonnes, well above the capacity of 63 million so a lot of grain is lying unprotected and subject to rot and spoilage.
The government is looking at exporting some of the surplus, but because the grain was purchased at values higher than today’s world price, the government will have to subsidize the movement, adding to the fiscal deficit.
Winnipeg (per tonne)
Canola Jul 12 $614.90, up $6.70 +1.10%
Canola Nov 12 $571.70, up $10.40 +1.85%
Canola Jan 13 $577.30, up $10.60 +1.87%
Canola Mar 13 $582.00, up $10.70 +1.87%
The previous day’s best basis in the par region was $14 over the July contract.
The relative strength index for the July contract was 53.
Western Barley Jul 12 $237.00, unchanged
Western Barley Oct 12 $210.00, unchanged
Milling Wheat Oct 12 $252.70, unchanged
Milling Wheat Dec 12 $260.00, unchanged
Milling Wheat Mar 13 $269.00, unchanged
Durum Wheat Oct 12 $275.60, unchanged
Durum Wheat Dec 12 $280.10, unchanged
Durum Wheat Mar 13 $286.70, unchanged
Barley Oct 12 $180.00, unchanged
Barley Dec 12 $183.50, unchanged
Barley Mar 13 $186.50, unchanged
Chicago (per bushel)
Soybeans (P) Jul 12 $14.28, up 41.75 cents +3.01%
Soybeans (P) Aug 12 $14.03 , up 36.75 +2.69%
Soybeans (P) Sep 12 $13.7025, up 41.5 +3.12%
Soybeans (P) Nov 12 $13.4125, up 42.0 +3.23%
Corn (P) Jul 12 $5.9325, up 7.0 +1.19%
Corn (P) Sep 12 $5.4225, up 14.75 +2.80%
Corn (P) Dec 12 $5.37, up 17.5 +3.37%
Oats (P) Jul 12 $3.00, up 5.75
Oats (P) Sep 12 $2.9625, up 2.5
Oats (P) Dec 12 $2.875, down 0.75
Minneapolis (per bushel)
Spring Wheat Jul 12 $7.6675, up 22.75 cents +3.06%
Spring Wheat Sep 12 $7.6175, up 19.25 +2.59%
Spring Wheat Dec 12 $7.6825, up 18.75 +2.50%
Nearby light crude in New York fell 20 cents to $84.82 per barrel.
The Bank of Canada noon rate for the Canadian dollar was 97.62 cents US, up from 97.12 the previous day.
The U.S. dollar is $1.0244 Cdn.
In early tallies:
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index closed down 41.28 points, or 0.35 percent, at 11,592.12 on weaker gold shares.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 46.17 points, or 0.37 percent, to end at 12,460.96.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index edged down 0.14 of a point, or 0.01 percent, to finish at 1,314.99.
The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 13.70 points, or 0.48 percent, to close at 2,831.02.
