The Dow’s re-crossing of the 17,000 point mark on Monday helped instill a mood of cheeriness that aided in pushing up slumping crop futures prices by a few cents.
Monday was a break in the pattern of ever-lower crop futures prices that has gripped the markets since the beginning of July, but few saw signs of a turnaround.
Most traders and market players described the Monday turnaround, which saw North American vegetable oil crops rise almost one percent and wheat types rising about two percent, as a product of profit-taking, with shorts cashing out profitable positions, as well as bargain buying. Few analysts see consistent gains likely in coming weeks, especially with generally good weather in most of the U.S. Midwest and Great Plains.
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Friday had seen soybeans drop to two-and-a-half year lows, while wheat and corn fell to four-year lows, making Monday’s rebound closer to a dead-cat bounce than a renaissance.
Canadian crops showed little independent power, even though the production situation on the Canadian Prairies continues to be murky, with thousands of fields and millions of acres suffering the effects of saturation, flooding and associated problems. The true state of most crops on the eastern Prairies is hard to gauge.
And regardless of crop dynamics, agricultural commodities reflected action in the equity markets. Most commodities rose Monday as well, with the exception of metals, which fell sharply.
The biggest chatter in the markets Monday was about the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s rise above 17,000, a psychologically important number that helps maintain the case that an economic recovery is occurring and is not just a product of central bank manipulation.
The Dow rose above 17,000 for the first time in early July but then took a walloping for a week, falling back beneath 16,900.
The decisive return to plus-17,000 levels made the markets cheery, with stocks like Citigroup rising three percent on the day. Overall, the Dow rose 111 points, or 0.66 percent.
Winnipeg ICE Futures Canada dollars per tonne
Canola Nov 2014 443.40 +3.50 +0.80%
Canola Jan 2015 446.80 +4.00 +0.90%
Canola Mar 2015 446.90 +4.70 +1.06%
Canola May 2015 443.50 +4.50 +1.03%
Canola Jul 2015 440.60 +4.00 +0.92%
Milling Wheat Oct 2014 191.00 +4.00 +2.14%
Milling Wheat Dec 2014 198.00 +4.00 +2.06%
Milling Wheat Mar 2015 209.00 +3.00 +1.46%
Durum Wheat Oct 2014 250.00 unch 0.00%
Durum Wheat Dec 2014 256.00 unch 0.00%
Durum Wheat Mar 2015 257.00 unch 0.00%
Barley Oct 2014 132.50 unch 0.00%
Barley Dec 2014 134.50 unch 0.00%
Barley Mar 2015 135.50 unch 0.00%
American crop prices in cents US/bushel, soybean meal in $US/short ton, soy oil in cents US/pound.
Chicago
Soybeans Aug 2014 1197 +1.25 +0.10%
Soybeans Sep 2014 1108 +8.75 +0.80%
Soybeans Nov 2014 1086.25 +11.25 +1.05%
Soybeans Jan 2015 1095 +11 +1.01%
Soybeans Mar 2015 1104.25 +11 +1.01%
Soybeans May 2015 1112.75 +11 +1.00%
Soybean Meal Aug 2014 388.6 +0.8 +0.21%
Soybean Meal Sep 2014 364.4 +2.3 +0.64%
Soybean Meal Oct 2014 351.2 +3 +0.86%
Soybean Oil Aug 2014 36.88 +0.11 +0.30%
Soybean Oil Sep 2014 36.97 +0.11 +0.30%
Soybean Oil Oct 2014 36.98 +0.13 +0.35%
Corn Sep 2014 381.5 +3.25 +0.86%
Corn Dec 2014 388.25 +3.5 +0.91%
Corn Mar 2015 399 +3 +0.76%
Corn May 2015 407 +2.75 +0.68%
Corn Jul 2015 414.75 +3 +0.73%
Oats Sep 2014 334 +5.25 +1.60%
Oats Dec 2014 332.5 +6 +1.84%
Oats Mar 2015 326.5 +8 +2.51%
Oats May 2015 318.75 +8 +2.57%
Oats Jul 2015 322 +8 +2.55%
Wheat Sep 2014 537.75 +11.75 +2.23%
Wheat Dec 2014 560.5 +12.75 +2.33%
Wheat Mar 2015 581.75 +12.25 +2.15%
Wheat May 2015 597.5 +11.75 +2.01%
Wheat Jul 2015 608.5 +12 +2.01%
Minneapolis
Spring Wheat Sep 2014 639.25 +11.25 +1.79%
Spring Wheat Dec 2014 650.25 +10.25 +1.60%
Spring Wheat Mar 2015 666.25 +9.5 +1.45%
Spring Wheat May 2015 674.5 +8.5 +1.28%
Spring Wheat Jul 2015 684 +6.25 +0.92%
Kansas City
KC HRW Wheat Sep 2014 646.25 +10 +1.57%
KC HRW Wheat Dec 2014 656.5 +9.75 +1.51%
KC HRW Wheat May 2015 666.5 +9 +1.37%
KC HRW Wheat Jul 2015 655.25 +8 +1.24%
Light crude oil nearby futures in New York rose 8 cents at $100.91 US per barrel.
The Canadian dollar at noon was 93.27 cents US, down from 93.28 cents the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was $1.0722 Cdn.
