It was another volatile day on the world’s markets but crop futures held fairly steady.
Investors wavered between hope generated by better than expected job creation in July in the United States and Canada and pessimism that Europe appears unable to fix its sovereign debt problems and the U.S. appears to have few tools available to restart its stalled economy.
November canola closed at $555.50 per tonne, down $4.
On the week, the contract fell $1.70 with a weaker loonie helping to limit losses. Strong grains early in the week based on worries that July heat had lowered corn yields were offset later in the week when investor confidence tanked.
In the U.S., soybeans and Chicago wheat edged lower today but corn and Minneapolis spring wheat rose. Corn posted a gain on the week. USDA on Aug. 11 will post its latest forecast for yields and production.
A cooler, wetter week is expected in the Midwest and that should help to fill soybean pods.
Western Canadian weather is also expected to favour crop growth.
The Canadian Oilseed Processors Association filed its last report of the 2010-11 crop year. In the four days from July 28 to the close of the crop year July 31 members crushed 72,509 tonnes of canola.
That brought the total for the crop year to 5,995,587 tonnes compared to 4,645,991 last year, an increase of 29 percent.
Winnipeg (per tonne)
Canola Nov 11 $555.50, down $4.00
Canola Jan 12 $564.00, down $3.90
Canola Mar 12 $568.30, down $4.10
Canola May 12 $571.80, down $4.60
The previous day’s best basis was $5 under the November contract according to ICE Futures Canada in Winnipeg.
The July contract’s 14-day Relative Strength Index was 41. The rule of thumb is an RSI of 30 indicates an over sold market and 70 indicates an over bought market.
Western Barley Oct 11 $205, unchanged
Chicago (per bushel)
Soybeans Aug 11 $13.315, down 7.75 cents
Soybeans Sep 11 $13.28, down 8.25
Soybeans Nov 11 $13.36, down 9.25
Corn Sep 11 $6.93, down 0.75
Corn Dec 11 $7.03, up 1.5
Oats Sep 11 $3.3525, up 3.75
Oats Dec 11 $3.4625, up 3.25
Minneapolis (per bushel)
Spring Wheat Sep 11 $8.275, up 4.25 cents
Spring Wheat Dec 11 $8.3475, up 3.25
Spring Wheat Mar 12 $8.46, up 3.5
The U.S. Labor Department said payrolls increased 117,000 and the unemployment rate dipped to 9.1 percent from 9.2 percent in June.
Statistics Canada said that 7,100 new jobs were added to the Canadian economy and the jobless rate fell to 7.2 percent in July from 7.4 percent in June.
Light crude oil nearby futures in New York rose 25 cents to $86.88 US per barrel.
The Canadian dollar at noon was $1.0160 US, down from $1.0239 the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was 98.43 cents Can.
The Toronto Stock Exchange composite index unofficially closed down 217.96 points, or 1.76 percent, at 12,162.17. Wall Street stabilized today after a shocking descent that wiped $2.5 trillion from the value of global equities.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index closed down 0.69 of a point, or 0.06 percent, at 1,199.38.
For the week, the TSX composite fell six percent, the Dow fell 5.8 percent, the S&P 500 dropped 7.2 percent and the Nasdaq lost 8.1 percent.
