Canola futures fell sharply on Thursday, dragged down by technical weakness and falling soybeans.
Canola had been hanging on to its value better than soybeans since the bearish USDA stocks report March 28, but today canola partly “caught up” to the falling market.
Technical selling increased when canola fell below the 50-day moving average.
Soybeans and corn were down on worries that an avian flu outbreak in China will force culling of flocks there, leading to a reduced need for soybean meal and corn. There is no sign yet that this strain can be transmitted person to person, but U.S. Centers for Disease Control says it will start preparations for making a vaccine.
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U.S. grains: Soybean futures set two-week high on US weather worry, soyoil rally
Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures touched a two-week high on Friday on worries that heat may threaten U.S. crops and expectations that the country’s biofuel policy would boost demand for soyoil, analysts said.
Many parts of the Prairies are expected to get five to eight centimetres of snow over the next few days, with some places up to 15 cm. Following that, the temperature is expected to drop Sunday to Tuesday with daily highs well below freezing. A slow melt indeed.
May canola closed at $610.80, down $9.60. November closed at $549.10, down $8.80
Weekly U.S. export sales for wheat were below expectations. For soybeans they met expectations. For corn, old crop sales were slightly above expectations but new crop sales were less than expected.
Cold weather in North America and Europe is slowing spring seeding or preparations for seeding. In Europe some analysts say the delays could push spring seeding past the ideal sweet spot for maximum yield potential. It is also delaying development of winter-seeded crops.
In the U.S. there is a bit of talk that if delays continue past the ideal seeding window for corn, that could lead to more soybean acres. Seems a bit early that that sort of talk though.
The weekly U.S. drought assessment shows that the worst levels of drought were reduced slightly again this week. The hardest hit states are Nebraska (1.38 million acres of winter wheat) and South Dakota (1.32 mln ac). Together they accounted for about seven percent of winter wheat (hard and soft) acreage last year. Kansas (9.5 million ac), Texas (5.7 mln ac) and Oklahoma (5.4 mln ac) are the leading winter wheat states by seeded area.
Winnipeg ICE Futures Canada dollars per tonne
Canola May 2013 610.80 -9.60 -1.55%
Canola Jul 2013 597.20 -10.40 -1.71%
Canola Nov 2013 549.10 -8.80 -1.58%
Canola Jan 2014 549.50 -8.90 -1.59%
Canola Mar 2014 545.10 -8.90 -1.61%
Milling Wheat May 2013 292.00 unch 0.00%
Milling Wheat Jul 2013 294.00 unch 0.00%
Milling Wheat Oct 2013 294.00 unch 0.00%
Durum Wheat May 2013 311.00 unch 0.00%
Durum Wheat Jul 2013 314.00 unch 0.00%
Durum Wheat Oct 2013 299.30 unch 0.00%
Barley May 2013 243.50 unch 0.00%
Barley Jul 2013 244.00 unch 0.00%
Barley Oct 2013 244.00 unch 0.00%
Soybeans May 2013 1372 -8.25 -0.60%
Soybeans Jul 2013 1351.75 -6 -0.44%
Soybeans Aug 2013 1322 -4.75 -0.36%
Soybeans Sep 2013 1268 -3.25 -0.26%
Soybeans Nov 2013 1233 +0.5 +0.04%
Soybeans Jan 2014 1238.75 +0.5 +0.04%
Soybean Meal May 2013 397.1 -0.9 -0.23%
Soybean Meal Jul 2013 394.4 -0.4 -0.10%
Soybean Meal Aug 2013 382.1 -0.1 -0.03%
Soybean Oil May 2013 48.55 -0.6 -1.22%
Soybean Oil Jul 2013 48.84 -0.58 -1.17%
Soybean Oil Aug 2013 48.9 -0.56 -1.13%
Corn May 2013 630 -11.5 -1.79%
Corn Jul 2013 618.5 -11.75 -1.86%
Corn Sep 2013 555 -4 -0.72%
Corn Dec 2013 540 +0.5 +0.09%
Corn Mar 2014 550.5 unch 0.00%
Oats May 2013 359 -3 -0.83%
Oats Jul 2013 350.5 -6.5 -1.82%
Oats Sep 2013 346.75 +4.75 +1.39%
Oats Dec 2013 341.5 unch 0.00%
Oats Mar 2014 350 unch 0.00%
Chicago soft red winter
Wheat May 2013 694 -2.5 -0.36%
Wheat Jul 2013 699.5 -1.75 -0.25%
Wheat Sep 2013 708 -2.25 -0.32%
Wheat Dec 2013 722 -3 -0.41%
Wheat Mar 2014 736 -3.5 -0.47%
Minneapolis hard red spring
Spring Wheat May 2013 786.5 -5 -0.63%
Spring Wheat Jul 2013 784.5 -5 -0.63%
Spring Wheat Sep 2013 783 -6.25 -0.79%
Spring Wheat Dec 2013 794.25 -5.75 -0.72%
Spring Wheat Mar 2014 808.25 -6.25 -0.77%
Kansas City hard red winter
KCBT Red Wheat May 2013 721.75 -13.5 -1.84%
KCBT Red Wheat Jul 2013 728.75 -13.75 -1.85%
KCBT Red Wheat Sep 2013 740.25 -14.5 -1.92%
KCBT Red Wheat Dec 2013 758.75 -13.25 -1.72%
KCBT Red Wheat Mar 2014 772.25 -12.75 -1.62%
The Bank of Canada noon rate for the loonie was 98.63 cents US, down from 98.68 on Wednesday. The U.S. buck was $1.0139.
Crude oil in New York fell $1.19 to $93.26 per barrel.
Stocks ended slightly higher on Thursday after the Bank of Japan announced aggressive, market-lifting policies to jump-start its economy, but lingering concern about Wednesday’s weak private sector jobs data capped gains, Reuters reported.
Government employment statistics for March come out Friday.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index unofficially fell 59.07 points, or 0.48 percent, at 12,363.05. The index is at its lowest level in three months.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 55.76 points, or 0.38 percent, at 14,606.11.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 6.29 points, or 0.40 percent, at 1,559.98.
The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 6.38 points, or 0.20 percent, at 3,224.98.
