After spending most of the day higher, canola futures closed lower on Monday,
Early in the day, the nearby canola price climbed to a level that equaled a cash price of $15, a trigger point for many farmers and that led to a wave of selling. As grain companies took out hedge positions to cover that buying, it added to the downward pressure in the afternoon.
Traders positioned themselves for USDA reports on Thursday.
Tight U.S. old crop grain stocks are expected to be confirmed but seeded areas for 2013-14 U.S. crops are expected to be large. Also, the big South American crops are a weight on the market, although there are still problems with port congestion in Brazil.
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Rain and snow fell again in the Plains and Midwest but not all areas received moisture.
May canola closed at $627.80, down $6.50. November closed at $559.90, down $4.60.
The cold that accompanied the snow in the Plain might have damaged more mature wheat. Reuters reported Travis Miller, an agronomist at Texas A&M University saying, “We did not dodge a bullet. It is a mess out there, both from freeze and drought.”
The potential damage did not prompt a price reaction in Kansas City hard winter wheat futures. Temperatures fell to the low 20s F and upper teens in Texas and even lower in Kansas where they were 2-4 F.
Kansas wheat on Monday was rated 31 percent poor to very poor, with 40 percent fair and 29 percent good to excellent.
Last year at the same time it was eight percent poor to very poor, 33 percent fair, 59 percent good to excellent.
The Texas Agricultural Statistics Service on Monday afternoon said that the Texas winter wheat crop was rated 47 percent poor to very poor due to the drought, 34 percent fair and 19 percent good to excellent.
The Oklahoma crop was rated 33 percent poor to very poor, 41 percent fair and 26 percent good to excellent, according to state agricultural officials.
Winnipeg ICE Futures Canada dollars per tonne
Canola May 2013 627.80 -6.50 -1.02%
Canola Jul 2013 615.50 -4.80 -0.77%
Canola Nov 2013 559.90 -4.60 -0.81%
Canola Jan 2014 560.90 -5.20 -0.92%
Canola Mar 2014 557.90 -5.20 -0.92%
Milling Wheat May 2013 292.00 unch 0.00%
Milling Wheat Jul 2013 294.00 unch 0.00%
Milling Wheat Oct 2013 294.00 unch 0.00%
Durum Wheat May 2013 311.00 unch 0.00%
Durum Wheat Jul 2013 314.00 unch 0.00%
Durum Wheat Oct 2013 299.30 unch 0.00%
Barley May 2013 243.00 unch 0.00%
Barley Jul 2013 243.50 unch 0.00%
Barley Oct 2013 243.50 unch 0.00%
American crop prices in cents US/bushel, soybean meal in $US/short ton, soy oil in cents US/pound
Chicago
Soybeans May 2013 1437.25 -3.25 -0.23%
Soybeans Jul 2013 1417.5 -0.5 -0.04%
Soybeans Aug 2013 1372.5 -0.5 -0.04%
Soybeans Sep 2013 1302.75 +1.5 +0.12%
Soybeans Nov 2013 1269 +5.25 +0.42%
Soybeans Jan 2014 1273.25 +5 +0.39%
Soybean Meal May 2013 417.8 -1.5 -0.36%
Soybean Meal Jul 2013 413 -1 -0.24%
Soybean Meal Aug 2013 395.5 -0.7 -0.18%
Soybean Oil May 2013 50.44 +0.01 +0.02%
Soybean Oil Jul 2013 50.7 +0.02 +0.04%
Soybean Oil Aug 2013 50.6 +0.03 +0.06%
Corn May 2013 733.25 +7 +0.96%
Corn Jul 2013 715.25 +6.75 +0.95%
Corn Sep 2013 605 +8.25 +1.38%
Corn Dec 2013 572 +6.75 +1.19%
Corn Mar 2014 581.25 +6.75 +1.17%
Oats May 2013 401 +4.75 +1.20%
Oats Jul 2013 400.25 +9.75 +2.50%
Oats Sep 2013 373.75 +6.5 +1.77%
Oats Dec 2013 367.5 +5 +1.38%
Oats Mar 2014 376 +5 +1.35%
Chicago soft wheat
Wheat May 2013 727.25 -2.5 -0.34%
Wheat Jul 2013 729 -0.25 -0.03%
Wheat Sep 2013 735.5 +0.5 +0.07%
Wheat Dec 2013 747.5 +1.25 +0.17%
Wheat Mar 2014 759.75 +1.5 +0.20%
Minneapolis hard red spring
Spring Wheat May 2013 805.25 -1.25 -0.15%
Spring Wheat Jul 2013 805.25 -1.25 -0.15%
Spring Wheat Sep 2013 804.5 -1.5 -0.19%
Spring Wheat Dec 2013 811.25 -2 -0.25%
Spring Wheat Mar 2014 824.75 -0.5 -0.06%
Kansas City hard red winter
KCBT Red Wheat May 2013 759 -2.5 -0.33%
KCBT Red Wheat Jul 2013 764.25 -2.25 -0.29%
KCBT Red Wheat Sep 2013 776 -2.25 -0.29%
KCBT Red Wheat Dec 2013 791.25 -2 -0.25%
KCBT Red Wheat Mar 2014 803 -1.5 -0.19%
Light crude oil nearby futures in New York rose $1.10 at $94.81 US per barrel.
The Canadian dollar at noon was 97.87 cents, up from 97.80 cents the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was $1.0218 Cdn.
Initial enthusiasm over a euro zone bailout deal for Cyprus scaled back as the day progressed and concerns mounted that there was work yet to be done.
The S&P/TSX composite index fell 76.64 points, or 0.6 percent, to close at 12,680.71.
The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 64.28 points, or 0.44 percent, to end at 14,447.75.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dipped 5.20 points, or 0.33 percent, to 1,551.69.
The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 9.70 points, or 0.30 percent, to close at 3,235.30.
