Canola closed lower on Monday as worries about Europe’s debt problems overwhelmed concern that wet weather was slowing Prairie crop development.
Rain in Western Canada was particularly heavy in the northwestern part of Saskatchewan’s grain belt. A cloudy week with the possibility of more rain in the forecast supported new crop canola prices, which did not fall as much as old crop.
July canola closed at $608.30, down $6.70.
November closed at $574.20, down $1.20.
Initially markets reacted positively to the European bailout of Spain’s banks but then fell back as attention moved to the details of the bailout as well as the continuing debt problems of several European countries and the June 17 election in Greece.
Read Also
Feed Grains Weekly: Price likely to keep stepping back
As the harvest in southern Alberta presses on, a broker said that is one of the factors pulling feed prices lower in the region. Darcy Haley, vice-president of Ag Value Brokers in Lethbridge, added that lower cattle numbers in feedlots, plentiful amounts of grass for cattle to graze and a lacklustre export market also weighed on feed prices.
Crop markets were also pressured by rain yesterday and today in dry areas of the Midwest.
• Go to Producer.com and Producermobile.com Tuesday morning to see our coverage of the U.S. Department of Agriculture supply and demand reports to be released in the morning.
• After the markets closed today, USDA released its weekly crop condition report that showed last week’s heat and dry weather hurt crops more than expected.
USDA pegged the corn crop at 66 percent good to excellent as of June 10, down six percentage points from a week earlier. Traders expected 68 percent.
Good-to-excellent ratings for soybeans fell five percentage points to 60 percent. Traders expected 63 percent.
Corn’s ratings fell below the five-year average for this time of year of 70 percent. Soybean ratings also were below the average for the second week of June.
• On the weekend, China released data showing exports rose in May at more than double the pace analysts estimated. However, industrial output and retail sales were lower than expected.
This indicates that last week’s interest rate cut was aimed at countering slowing domestic growth.
Winnipeg (per tonne)
Canola Jul 12 $608.30, down 6.70 -1.09%
Canola Nov 12 $574.20, down 1.20 -0.21%
Canola Jan 13 $579.00, down 1.40 -0.24%
Canola Mar 13 $583.20, down 1.70 -0.29%
The best basis the previous day in the par region was $14 above the July contract, according to ICE Futures Canada.
The 14-day 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 $275.50, unchanged
Durum Wheat Dec 12 $280.00, unchanged
Durum Wheat Mar 13 $286.60, unchanged
Barley Oct 12 $182.30, up $2.30 +1.28%
Barley Dec 12 $185.00, up $1.50 +0.82%
Barley Mar 13 $188.00, up $1.50 +0.80%
Chicago (per bushel)
Soybeans (P) Jul 12 $14.2475, down 1.5 cents -0.11%
Soybeans (P) Aug 12 $13.99, down 1.5 -0.11%
Soybeans (P) Sep 12 $13.61, down 1.0 -0.07%
Soybeans (P) Nov 12 $13.3125, down 1.25 -0.09%
Corn (P) Jul 12 $5.92, down 6.0 -1.00%
Corn (P) Sep 12 $5.405, down 10.5 -1.91%
Corn (P) Dec 12 $5.34, down 10.0 -1.84%
Oats (P) Jul 12 $2.9525, down 8.0 -2.64%
Oats (P) Sep 12 $2.915, down 11.25 -3.72%
Oats (P) Dec 12 $2.885, down 8.75 -2.94%
Minneapolis (per bushel)
Spring Wheat Jul 12 $7.7975, up 10.5 cents +1.36%
Spring Wheat Sep 12 $7.625, up 2.0 +0.26%
Spring Wheat Dec 12 $7.67, up 0.25 +0.03%
Nearby light crude oil in New York fell to $82.70, down $1.40.
The Bank of Canada noon rate for the Canadian dollar was 97.25 cents US, up from 96.79 the previous trading day.
The U.S. dollar at noon was $1.0283 Cdn.
In early tallies:
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index closed down 98.85 points, or 0.9 percent, at 11,401.78.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 142.97 points, or 1.14 percent, to 12,411.23.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 16.73 points, or 1.26 percent, to 1,308.93.
The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 48.69 points, or 1.70 percent, to 2,809.73.
