Strong weekly exports of U.S. soybeans lifted oilseed prices on Thursday, including canola
May canola closed at $580.20 per tonne, up $4 and November closed at $541.50, up $1.10.
American soybean sales last week were 1.6 million tonnes, of which one million tonnes was old crop, a huge amount for this late in the crop year.
Demand from China remains high and there are concerns about a dockworkers strike in Argentina delaying sales from there.
Slow farmer deliveries in Western Canada also supported canola.
• Corn and wheat fell again as traders balanced their portfolios ahead of Friday’s USDA supply and demand report.
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Many private forecasters now put the Brazilian soybean crop at about 69 million tonnes. The question is how much will the USDA drop its estimate from last month’s 72 million tonnes.
• While the U.S. hard red winter wheat crop has improved since last fall thanks to better moisture over the winter, there are areas of concern that are getting worse.
Western parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas are dry.
• The Buenos Aires Grains Exchange lowered its estimate for Argentina’s corn crop to 20.8 million tonnes from a previous forecast of 21.3 million tonnes. But Brazil’s government raised its view again for its corn crop to 61.7 million tonnes from 60.83 million last month, due to an expected surge in winter corn crop planting.
• Equity markets jumped higher as it appears that Greece will finalize its debt swap and avoid a chaotic default.
• Reuters issued a story today quoting private traders who called into question China’s official statistics on corn production and stocks there. Private forecasters say the government’s numbers are significantly overstated. They believe official statements that the country will not need to import are efforts to talk down the market.
Winnipeg (per tonne)
Canola Mar 12 $589.20, up $4.00 +0.68%
Canola May 12 $580.60, up $3.00 +0.52%
Canola Jul 12 $581.20, up $2.60 +0.45%
Canola Nov 12 $541.50, up $1.10 +0.20%
The previous day’s best canola basis was $6 over the May contract, according to ICE Futures Canada in Winnipeg.
The 14-day relative strength index was 80.
Western Barley Mar 12 $214.00, unchanged
Western Barley May 12 $220.00, unchanged
Milling Wheat Oct 12 $260.50, unchanged
Milling Wheat Dec 12 $265.50, unchanged
Milling Wheat Mar 13 270.50, unchanged
Durum Wheat Oct 12 $265.50, unchanged
Durum Wheat Dec 12 $270.00, unchanged
Durum Wheat Mar 13 $276.60, unchanged
Barley Oct 12 $185.00, unchanged
Barley Dec 12 $188.50, unchanged
Barley Mar 13 $190.00, unchanged
Chicago (per bushel)
Soybeans Mar 12 $13.325, up 11.0 cents +0.83%
Soybeans May 12 $13.385, up 11.75 +0.89%
Soybeans Nov 12 $12.995, up 8.0 +0.62%
Corn Mar 12 $6.45, up 1.25 +0.19%
Corn May 12 $6.355, down 3.25 -0.51%
Corn Dec 12 $5.5725, down 0.75 -0.13%
Oats Mar 12 $3.125, down 10.5 -3.25%
Oats May 12 $2.8775, down 10.75 -3.60%
Oats Dec 12 $3.00, down 12.0 -3.85%
Minneapolis (per bushel)
Spring Wheat Mar 12 $8.0125, down 3.25 cents -0.40%
Spring Wheat May 12 $8.035, down 5.25 -0.65%
Spring Wheat Dec 12 $7.83, down 4.75 -0.60%
The nearby New York light sweet crude contract rose 42 cents to $106.58.
The Canadian dollar at noon edged above par at $1.0080 US, up from 1.0007 the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was 99.21 Cdn.
In an early tally, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index ended up 111.77 points, or 0.91 percent, at 12,461.93.
Unofficially, the Dow Jones industrial average climbed 70.61 points, or 0.55 percent, to end at 12,907.94. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index jumped 13.28 points, or 0.98 percent, to finish unofficially at 1,365.91. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 34.73 points, or 1.18 percent, to close unofficially at 2,970.42.
