Crop futures, including canola, edged higher Thursday on bargain buying after prices hit multi-year lows earlier this week.
Harvest delays due to rain in Canada and the U.S. Midwest also lent support, but advances were limited on the expectation of a record large U.S. harvest.
A large part of Western Canada is forecast to have below normal temperatures through the weekend. Moisture Saturday in central and northern Saskatchewan could fall as a mixture of rain and snow.
Activity in the canola market today was thin with the trade awaiting Statistics Canada’s crop production forecast tomorrow morning.
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Most expect StatCan will increase its estimate of the canola crop.
Saskatchewan Agriculture today said that as of Sept. 29, 68 percent of the crop had been harvested and another 22 percent was swathed or ready to combine.
Hot weather last week was ideal for rapid progress. The harvest progress is now much closer to the five-year average of 72 percent combined and 18 percent swathed or ready to cut.
Quality problems and disease continue to be major issues with the crop.
Although bargain buying was behind most of the price increases today, wheat enjoyed some positive news.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture export report said wheat sales for the week ended Sept. 25 were 741,000 tonnes, up 90 percent from the four-week average and above the trade’s expectation for 400,000-600,000 tonnes.
Modest support also came from a Reuters news story that said even with a near record crop, Russian wheat prices were climbing, putting that country out of contention on recent tenders.
The U.S. export sales news was not so positive for corn. Sales were 638,100 tonnes for 2014-15 and 47,900 tonnes for 2015-16, toward the low end of trade expectations according to a Reuters poll.
Soybean sales were 869,100 tonnes for 2014-15 and 21,500 tonnes for 2015-16, roughly in line with expectations.
U.S. grain prices were also supported by a slight retreat in the U.S. dollar, which had hit a four-year high against a basket of currencies the day before.
As the early harvest of bumper U.S. crop starts to flood onto the market, river barge freight costs are historically high and rail rates are also expensive in the U.S.
Crude oil prices fell after Saudi Arabia lowered its selling price to attract more demand and maintain market share.
Global economic growth is lagging while oil production is increasing, leading to oversupply and falling prices.
The U.S. benchmark oil contract traded below $90 a barrel for a while today, the first sub $90 price in a year. However, at the close it was higher than on Wednesday.
The world Brent crude price was at a two year low.
Winnipeg ICE Futures Canada dollars per tonne
Canola Nov 2014 398.20 +2.30 +0.58%
Canola Jan 2015 404.30 +2.00 +0.50%
Canola Mar 2015 411.20 +1.90 +0.46%
Canola May 2015 417.40 +1.30 +0.31%
Canola Jul 2015 422.70 +0.40 +0.09%
Milling Wheat Oct 2014 199.00 +2.00 +1.02%
Milling Wheat Dec 2014 203.00 +1.00 +0.50%
Milling Wheat Mar 2015 212.00 +1.00 +0.47%
Durum Wheat Oct 2014 320.00 +16.80 +5.54%
Durum Wheat Dec 2014 326.50 +16.80 +5.42%
Durum Wheat Mar 2015 327.50 +16.80 +5.41%
Barley Oct 2014 114.50 -0.30 -0.26%
Barley Dec 2014 116.50 -0.30 -0.26%
Barley Mar 2015 119.50 unch 0.00%
American crop prices in cents US/bushel, soybean meal in $US/short ton, soy oil in cents US/pound
Chicago
Soybeans Nov 2014 924.5 +7.75 +0.85%
Soybeans Jan 2015 933 +8 +0.86%
Soybeans Mar 2015 941.5 +7.75 +0.83%
Soybeans May 2015 949.25 +7.25 +0.77%
Soybeans Jul 2015 955.75 +7.25 +0.76%
Soybeans Aug 2015 958.25 +7 +0.74%
Soybean Meal Oct 2014 308.7 +3.4 +1.11%
Soybean Meal Dec 2014 301.3 +2.7 +0.90%
Soybean Meal Jan 2015 300.2 +2.9 +0.98%
Soybean Oil Oct 2014 32.67 +0.01 +0.03%
Soybean Oil Dec 2014 32.8 unch 0.00%
Soybean Oil Jan 2015 33.06 -0.02 -0.06%
Corn Dec 2014 322.75 +1.5 +0.47%
Corn Mar 2015 335.75 +1.75 +0.52%
Corn May 2015 344.25 +1.5 +0.44%
Corn Jul 2015 352 +1.75 +0.50%
Corn Sep 2015 359.75 +2 +0.56%
Oats Dec 2014 344.5 +5.75 +1.70%
Oats Mar 2015 330 +4.75 +1.46%
Oats May 2015 321 +2.5 +0.78%
Oats Jul 2015 316.5 +2.25 +0.72%
Oats Sep 2015 320.5 +2.25 +0.71%
Wheat Dec 2014 482.75 +3.75 +0.78%
Wheat Mar 2015 496 +3.75 +0.76%
Wheat May 2015 504.75 +3.5 +0.70%
Wheat Jul 2015 513.25 +4.25 +0.83%
Wheat Sep 2015 525.25 +4.5 +0.86%
Minneapolis
Spring Wheat Dec 2014 535.5 +3.75 +0.71%
Spring Wheat Mar 2015 550.75 +2.75 +0.50%
Spring Wheat May 2015 562.5 +2.75 +0.49%
Spring Wheat Jul 2015 573.25 +2.75 +0.48%
Spring Wheat Sep 2015 584.5 +2.5 +0.43%
Kansas City
Hard Red Wheat Dec 2014 561.5 +4 +0.72%
Hard Red Wheat Mar 2015 563.75 +2.25 +0.40%
Hard Red Wheat May 2015 565.75 +0.75 +0.13%
Hard Red Wheat Jul 2015 561.75 +1.25 +0.22%
Hard Red Wheat Sep 2015 573.5 +0.5 +0.09%
Light crude oil nearby futures in New York rose 28 cents at $91.01 US per barrel.
The Canadian dollar at noon was 89.68 cents US, up from 89.52 cents the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was $1.1151 Cdn.
European markets fell when the European Central Bank failed to provide specifics on its intention to use various policy tools to stimulate the economy. The weak crude oil market weighed down energy shares on the Toronto market.
In unofficial tallies —
The TSX composite closed down 44.80 points, or 0.3 percent, at 14,760.64.
The Dow Jones fell 3.6 points, or 0.02 percent, to 16,801.11, the S&P 500 remained unchanged at 1,946.16 and the Nasdaq Composite added 8.11 points, or 0.18 percent, to 4,430.20.
