Oilseeds prices fell on Monday, but corn and wheat rose.
Soybeans dropped on an upbeat outlook for South American soy production. The weakness spilled over to canola, which was also pressured by a much stronger Canadian dollar.
Bunge forecast Canadian farmers will seed a record 19.5 million acres to canola this spring if the weather allows it. That is up from 16.8 million last year.
Corn rose as traders shifted their attention back to forecasts for exceptionally tight year end stocks of U.S. corn.
Wheat rose on spill over support from corn and on worries about dry conditions in the U.S. hard red winter wheat area.
But worries about China’s wheat crop faded. Rain and snow delivered about 10 millimetres of moisture to China’s winter wheat belt over the weekend.
This moisture, in addition to other light precipitation and emergency irrigation in the last two weeks, has greatly reduced the area in severe drought.
Winnipeg futures prices at the close:
Canola Mar 11 $572.70 Cdn per tonne down $2.30
Canola May 11 $578.70 down $4.70
Canola Jul 11 $585.80 down $5.30
Canola Nov 11 $569.20 down $3.80
The previous day’s best basis was $16.10 under the March contract according to ICE Futures Canada in Winnipeg.
The March contract 14-day Relative Strength Index was 43. The rule of thumb is an RSI of 30 indicates an over sold market and 70 indicates an over bought market.
Western Barley Mar 11 $194 per tonne unchanged
Western Barley May 11 $205 unchanged
Chicago
Soybeans Mar 11 $13.5725 US per bu. down 8.25 cents
Soybeans May 11 $13.6475 down 10.25 cents
Corn Mar 11 $7.225 up 10.5 cents
Corn May 11 $7.31 up 9 cents
Oats Mar 11 $3.7125 up 2 cents
Oats May 11 $3.81 up 2 cents
Minneapolis
Spring Wheat Mar 11 $9.3075 up 15 cents
Spring Wheat May 11 $9.41 up 12.5 cents
Spring Wheat Dec 11 $9.585 up 10.75 cents
Light crude oil at New York fell 91 cents per barrel to $96.97.
The Canadian dollar at noon was $1.0268 US, up from $1.0195 the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was 97.39 cents Cdn.
The Toronto Stock Exchange composite index rose 84.37 points to 14,136.50.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 7.35 points at 1,327.23.
