Worries about exports to earthquake-devastated Japan dominated trading on Monday, but many grain futures finished the day stronger.
Old crop canola fell as traders worried that Japan, the top customer for Canadian canola, might buy less in coming weeks as it struggles to recover from the huge quake and tsunami on March 11.
But new crop canola contracts were about steady or edged higher.
Soybeans, corn and most wheat futures markets in the U.S. closed higher.
Some analysts think Japan will have to increase food imports to make up for grain destroyed in silos damaged by the earthquake.
There are about as many interpretations of the Japan situation as there are analysts.
There will certainly be short-term disruption to trade.
But much of the central and southern parts of the country were not significantly damaged. Once Japan fixes its worrisome problems with its nuclear power plants and can restore steady electricity supply, most ports should get back to business.
This was a huge tragedy in lost lives, homes and infrastructure in northern coastal areas.
But Japan is a wealthy country and the tragedy is unlikely to change people’s diets. The country will still need to import food, including canola.
Winnipeg (per tonne)
Canola May 11 $555, down $3.10
Canola Jul 11 $563, down $2.90
Canola Nov 11 $544.40, down 70 cents
Canola Jan 12 $547.80, up $1.70
The previous day’s best basis was steady at $27 under the May contract according to ICE Futures Canada in Winnipeg.
The May contract 14-day Relative Strength Index was 36. The rule of thumb is an RSI of 30 indicates an over sold market and 70 indicates an over bought market.
Western Barley May 11 $205 per tonne unchanged
Chicago (per bushel)
Soybeans May 11 $13.40, up 5.5 cents
Soybeans Jul 11 $13.48, up 5.5 cents
Soybeans Nov 1 $13.08, up eight cents
Corn May 11 $6.66, up 1.75 cents
Corn Jul 11 $6.725, up 1.75 cents
Oats May 11 $3.46, down 6.5 cents
Oats Jul 11 $3.5175, down 6.5
Minneapolis (per bushel)
Spring Wheat May 11 $8.5925, up 0.75 cents
Spring Wheat Jul 11 $8.6625, down 0.5 cents
Spring Wheat Dec 12 $8.795, up 2.5 cents
Light crude oil nearby futures in New York rose three cents to $101.19 US per barrel.
The Canadian dollar at noon was $1.0247 US, down from $1.0273 the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was 97.59 cents Cdn.
The Toronto Stock Exchange composite index fell 55.06 points to 13,619.19.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 7.89 points to 1,296.39.
