A United States Department of Agriculture report that put March 1 stocks of soybeans and corn higher than expected drove down agriculture markets on Wednesday.
USDA also reported on farmers’ spring seeding plans. Corn, soybean and spring wheat acreages will increase, but the rise for corn and soybeans will be less than analysts expected.
The spring wheat acreage number was more than expected.
With good spring weather forecasted for the U.S. Midwest, many analysts expect farmers will seed more corn and soybeans than they planned when last interviewed by the USDA.
Corn futures fell 2.7 percent over the day and wheat was down 4.5 percent.
Soybeans were hit harder than canola. May soybeans fell 3.4 percent but May canola fell only 0.9 percent.
In the first three months of 2010, Chicago wheat futures are down 16.8 percent, corn is down 16.7 percent and soybeans are down 9.5 percent.
Winnipeg canola is down about 7.3 percent, which is good considering the Canadian dollar has appreciated about two percent over that period.
Canola’s relative strength to soybeans and the stronger loonie are slashing crusher margins, reducing demand from domestic processors.
On Wednesday, losses in canola were lessened by exporters buying late in the day.
The May canola contract fell $3.50 to $380 per tonne on 10,424 trades. The drop put the price below several moving averages, increasing technical weakness.
The previous day’s best basis was steady at $7.75 per tonne off the May contract in the par region, according to the Winnipeg ICE Futures daily report.
The 14-day Relative Strength Index for May canola was 46, according to BarChart.com. The rule of thumb is an RSI of 30 indicates an over sold market and 70 indicates over bought.
July fell $3.80 to $385.90 on 7,657 trades.
New crop November fell $3.70 to $386.30 per tonne on 2,508 trades.
The Canadian dollar at noon was 98.46 cents US, up from 98.15 cents at noon the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was $1.0156.
Again there was no trade in Winnipeg barley. The May barley contract was steady at $154 per tonne. July was steady at $145. December was steady at $150.
Chicago May soybeans fell 33 cents to $9.41 US per bushel. November soybeans fell 8.5 cent to $9.18 per bu.
May oats fell 5.5 cents to $2.08 US per bu.
Light crude oil for May delivery rose $1.39 to $83.76 US per barrel.
Argentine dockworkers on Wednesday reached a deal with employers to end more than a week of disruptions and protests.
