Slower China growth pressures canola lower

Canola and most other crop futures dropped along with commodities and other risk investments after China reported disappointing growth in the first quarter.

May canola settled at $625.90 per tonne, down $3.90 for Thursday’s contract high.

November settled at $579.80, down $3.50.

Over the week the May contract rose $4.30 but the November contract fell 90 cents on expectations for a record crop.

• Hopes yesterday for a strong China report were dashed when the official report came in at annual 8.1 percent growth in the January-March quarter, less than the 8.3 percent economists had forecast and a near a three-year low.

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• Rain or snow is expected in parts of the Canadian Prairies this weekend, improving soil moisture.

• Rain is expected in the Midwest this weekend, slowing seeding, but improving soil moisture. At this proint, prospects for U.S. crops are good. The hard red winter wheat crop is in much better shape than it was at this time last year. Seeding of spring crops is advancing at a record pace.

• Canadian Oilseed Processors Association said members crushed 148,732 tonnes of canola in the week ending April 11, up about four percent and representing a capacity use of 89 percent.

• Ottawa announced today that grain exporters may collect $9 per tonne for shipping through Churchill. The grants are available on a first-come basis to a maximum payout of $5 million per year for all shippers combined.

Winnipeg (per tonne)

Canola May 12 $625.90, down $3.90 -0.62%

Canola Jul 12 $620.50, down $3.70 -0.59%

Canola Nov 12 $579.80, down $3.50 -0.60%

Canola Jan 13 $583.90, down $3.60 -0.61%

The best basis for the previous day in the par region was +$2.40 over the May contract said Ice Futures Canada.

Western Barley May 12 $235.00, unchanged

Western Barley Jul 12 $235.00, unchanged

Milling Wheat Oct 12 $266.00, unchanged

Milling Wheat Dec 12 $271.00, unchanged

Milling Wheat Mar 13 $276.00, unchanged

Durum Wheat Oct 12 $277.50, unchanged

Durum Wheat Dec 12 $282.00, unchanged

Durum Wheat Mar 13 $288.60, unchanged

Barley Oct 12 $186.50, unchanged

Barley Dec 12 $190.00, unchanged

Barley Mar 13 $191.50, unchanged

Chicago (per bushel)

Soybeans May 12 $14.3675, down 4.25 -0.29%

Soybeans Jul 12 $14.4075, down 3.75 -0.26%

Soybeans Nov 12 $13.6175, down 11.0 -0.80%

Corn May 12 $6.2925, down 8.25 -1.29%

Corn Jul 12 $6.2075, down 8.25 -1.31%

Corn Dec 12 $5.37, down 9.75 -1.78%

Oats May 12 $3.2825, down 5.75 -1.72%

Oats Jul 12 $3.31, down 6.0 -1.78%

Oats Dec 12 $3.35, down 3.0 -0.89%

Minneapolis (per bushel)

Spring Wheat May 12 $8.2425, down 12.25 -1.46%

Spring Wheat Jul 12 $8.205, down 11.75 -1.41%

Spring Wheat Sep 12 $8.0775, down 11.25 -1.37%

Spring Wheat Dec 12 $8.0375, down 4.25 -0.53%

The nearby New York light sweet crude contract fell 81 cents to $102.83.

The Canadian dollar at noon was $1.0021 US, down from $1.0050 the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was 99.79 cents Cdn.

In unofficial early tallies:

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index ended down 174.26 points, or 1.43 percent, at 12,040.39.

The TSX has fallen for seven consecutive weeks.

the Dow Jones industrial average was down 136.99 points, or 1.05 percent, to close at 12,849.59.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell17.31 points, or 1.25 percent, to finish at 1,370.26.

The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 44.22 points, or 1.45 percent, to close at 3,011.33.

For the week, the TSX was down 0.5 percent, the Dow was down 1.6 percent, the S&P 500 fell two percent and the Nasdaq was down 2.2 percent.

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