Profit taking hits grains, canola down 1.78 percent

Canola and most other crop futures fell sharply Tuesday on profit taking, bearish chart signals and good weather in the U.S. Midwest and Southern Plains.

May canola fell $10.70 to close at $590.70 per tonne.

November closed at $550.70, down $9.60.

Crop markets have been in technically overbought positions for some time and there was no new bullish news to feed rallies.

Traders are also starting to position themselves for the USDA prospective planting report due March 30.

Moisture conditions improved in some parts of the Canadian Prairies after Monday’s storms. More moisture is expected Thursday.

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The U.S. hard red winter wheat region also is getting moisture.

• Commodities fell generally today on indications that China’s demand for iron ore and luxury cars is slowing, indicating a weakening economy. The loonie fell relative to the U.S buck.

• Oil World today forecast the Canadian canola crop in 2012 would be planted on 20-21 million acres and the harvest would reach 15 million to 15.4 million tonnes.

This is similar to other forecasts.

Winnipeg (per tonne)

Canola May 12 $590.70, down $10.70 -1.78%

Canola Jul 12 $589.70, down $10.40 -1.73%

Canola Nov 12 $550.70, down $9.60 -1.71%

Canola Jan 13 $554.60, down $9.50 -1.68%

The previous day’s best canola basis was 60 cents over the May contract, according to ICE Futures Canada in Winnipeg.

The 14-day relative strength index was 69.

Western Barley May 12 $224.00, unchanged

Western Barley Jul 12 $227.00, unchanged

Milling Wheat Oct 12 $260.60, unchanged

Milling Wheat Dec 12 $265.60, unchanged

Milling Wheat Mar 13 $270.60, 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 May 12 $13.45, down 21.5 cents -1.57%

Soybeans Jul 12 $13.5225, down 21.25 -1.55%

Soybeans Nov 12 $13.0725, down 18.25 -1.38%

Corn May 12 $6.475, down 16.0 -2.41%

Corn Jul 12 $6.46, down 15.5 -2.34%

Corn Dec 13 $5.6025, down 10.0 -1.75%

Oats May 12 $3.31, down 3.25 -0.97%

Oats Jul 12 $3.2325, up 1.25 +0.39%

Oats Dec 13 $3.235, unchanged

Minneapolis (per bushel)

Spring Wht May 12 $7.9925, down 7.75 cents -0.96%

Spring Wht Jul 12 $7.965, down 7.25 -0.90%

Spring Wht Dec 12 $7.8375, down 10.0 -1.26%

The nearby New York light sweet crude contract fell $2.48 to $105.61. Saudi Arabia announced it has the capacity to meet any supply shortfalls if tensions over Iran’s nuclear program cause that country’s production to become unavailable.

It said it was already pumping 9.9 million barrels per day to meet all requests and could quickly bump that up to 12.5 million.

The Saudis have been worried that if oil climbs too high it would stall global economic growth and cut oil demand.

The Canadian dollar at noon was $1.0067 US, down from $1.0121 the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was 99.33 cents Cdn.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was down 49.00 points, or 0.39 percent, to 12,340.70.

In preliminary tallies, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 68.94 points, or 0.52 percent, at 13,170.19, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 4.23 points, or 0.30 percent, to 1,405.52. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 4.17 points, or 0.14 percent, to 3,074.15.