Spring wheat hits four year high Monday

U.S. wheat, soybean and corn futures rose in an abbreviated session ahead of the U.S. July Fourth holiday, buoyed by worries that hot and dry weather in the northern Plains spring wheat belt could spread into the western Midwest, analysts said.

Spring wheat futures on the Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX) soared to a four-year high above $8 a bushel.

“The market has reawakened to weather risk. It started with wheat, and now it has caught up with the beans and the corn,” said Terry Linn, analyst with Linn & Associates.

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CANOLA

ICE Futures Canada was closed today for the Canada Day holiday. Canola futures could rally on Tuesday to reflect today’s rally in soybean and the stress that hot weather on the Canadian Prairies will put on the developing canola crop.

Today, another European forecaster slightly trimmed the outlook for the EU rapeseed crop because of recent hot dry weather there.

WHEAT

At the Chicago Board of Trade, September wheat settled up 29 cents at $5.55 per bushel while front-month July, which expires next week, touched $5.39, the highest spot price since July 20, 2015.

MGEX July spring wheat settled at $8.12 per bushel after reaching $8.16-1/4, its highest spot price since July 2013.

Hot and dry conditions are forecast to intensify in the northern Plains spring wheat belt. Temperatures could top 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) this weekend and early next week in Montana and western North Dakota, said Don Keeney with MDA Weather Services.

“It’s not good for the spring wheat at all,” Keeney said, adding that forecasts were “bone dry” for the region after this week.

CBOT September corn ended up 7-1/2 cents at $3.88-1/2 per bushel while August soybeans finished up 23 cents at $9.70 a bushel.

WEATHER

Much-needed rain was expected in the Midwest this week, favouring central and eastern portions of the Corn Belt. But traders remained wary, especially given drier outlooks for the following week.

“These rains of late have not had the coverage that has been forecasted. In particular there are concerns with the dryness in central Illinois,” Linn said.

Illinois was the second-largest U.S. corn producer last year and the top soybean grower.

FUND ACTIVITY

Soybeans appeared to draw support from fund-driven buying after supplemental data released by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission late Friday showed large speculators expanded their net short position in CBOT soybeans in the week to June 27 to a record-large 146,696 contracts.

U.S. markets including CBOT grains and soy will be closed on Tuesday for the Fourth of July holiday.

Light crude oil nearby futures in New York were up $1.03 US$47.07 per barrel.

OUTSIDE MARKET

In the afternoon, the Canadian dollar was trading around US76.84 cents, down from 77.12 cents the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar was C$1.3014.

Crude oil in New York rallied again, climbing $1.03 to close at $47.07 on signs of diminished U.S. output.

The Toronto market was closed today.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 129.64 points, or 0.61 percent, to 21,479.27, the S&P 500 gained 5.6 points, or 0.23 percent, to 2,429.01 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 30.36 points, or 0.49 percent, to 6,110.06

Winnipeg ICE Futures Canada dollars per tonne

Canola Jul 2017 551.30 +21.30 +4.02%

Canola Nov 2017 498.00 +13.60 +2.81%

Canola Jan 2018 503.60 +13.20 +2.69%

Canola Mar 2018 509.20 +13.40 +2.70%

Canola May 2018 512.70 +13.20 +2.64%

Milling Wheat Jul 2017 309.00 +3.00 +0.98%

Milling Wheat Oct 2017 303.00 +7.00 +2.36%

Milling Wheat Dec 2017 309.00 +7.00 +2.32%

Durum Wheat Jul 2017 277.00 -1.00 -0.36%

Durum Wheat Oct 2017 270.00 unch 0.00%

Durum Wheat Dec 2017 274.00 unch 0.00%

Barley Jul 2017 138.00 unch 0.00%

Barley Oct 2017 140.00 unch 0.00%

Barley Dec 2017 140.00 unch 0.00%

American crop prices in cents US/bushel, soybean meal in $US/short ton, soy oil in cents US/pound

Chicago

Soybeans Jul 2017 964.75 +24.50 +2.61%

Soybeans Aug 2017 970.00 +25.00 +2.65%

Soybeans Sep 2017 973.50 +25.50 +2.69%

Soybeans Nov 2017 980.75 +28.25 +2.97%

Soybeans Jan 2018 987.50 +27.25 +2.84%

Soybeans Mar 2018 987.00 +22.75 +2.36%

Soybean Meal Jul 2017 311.90 +8.20 +2.70%

Soybean Meal Aug 2017 313.80 +8.40 +2.75%

Soybean Meal Sep 2017 315.70 +9.00 +2.93%

Soybean Oil Jul 2017 33.13 +0.17 +0.52%

Soybean Oil Aug 2017 33.24 +0.18 +0.54%

Soybean Oil Sep 2017 33.36 +0.21 +0.63%

Corn Jul 2017 378.00 +8.00 +2.16%

Corn Sep 2017 388.50 +8.50 +2.24%

Corn Dec 2017 399.25 +8.50 +2.18%

Corn Mar 2018 408.25 +8.25 +2.06%

Corn May 2018 413.50 +8.25 +2.04%

Oats Jul 2017 284.50 -20.50 -6.72%

Oats Sep 2017 293.75 +9.00 +3.16%

Oats Dec 2017 294.50 +11.75 +4.16%

Oats Mar 2018 289.75 +5.75 +2.02%

Oats May 2018 290.25 +5.25 +1.84%

Wheat Jul 2017 536.75 +25.75 +5.04%

Wheat Sep 2017 555.00 +29.25 +5.56%

Wheat Dec 2017 574.00 +28.75 +5.27%

Wheat Mar 2018 587.50 +29.25 +5.24%

Wheat May 2018 594.50 +28.25 +4.99%

Minneapolis

Spring Wheat Jul 2017 812.00 +35.50 +4.57%

Spring Wheat Sep 2017 816.00 +40.50 +5.22%

Spring Wheat Dec 2017 798.25 +33.50 +4.38%

Spring Wheat Mar 2018 779.00 +27.25 +3.62%

Spring Wheat May 2018 763.50 +28.50 +3.88%

Kansas City

Hard Red Wheat Jul 2017 541.25 +31.50 +6.18%

Hard Red Wheat Sep 2017 559.50 +31.25 +5.92%

Hard Red Wheat Dec 2017 584.25 +32.00 +5.79%

Hard Red Wheat Mar 2018 596.75 +31.75 +5.62%

Hard Red Wheat May 2018 603.75 +30.25 +5.27%

Chicago livestock futures in US¢/pound (rounded to two decimal places)

Live Cattle (P) Aug 2017 115.75 -0.53 -0.46%

Live Cattle (P) Oct 2017 114.75 -0.40 -0.35%

Live Cattle (P) Dec 2017 115.48 -0.37 -0.32%

Feeder Cattle (P) Aug 2017 146.10 -2.10 -1.42%

Feeder Cattle (P) Sep 2017 146.42 -1.93 -1.30%

Feeder Cattle (P) Oct 2017 145.68 -1.40 -0.95%

Lean Hogs (P) Jul 2017 90.70 -0.15 -0.17%

Lean Hogs (P) Aug 2017 84.40 +0.65 +0.78%

Lean Hogs (P) Oct 2017 71.55 +1.07 +1.52%

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