Wheat rose again, while canola held steady

Wheat futures rose on short covering and concern about dry weather in the U.S. southern plains.

Canola varied little during the day and March closed at $503.60, unchanged.

Canola did well considering that the Canadian dollar rallied about a half cent against the American greenback. The loonie was supported by rising crude oil as Saudi Arabia showed signs that it was abiding by the OPEC agreement to cut production.

Soybeans drifted slightly lower.

The market is trying to find a direction as it gets mixed signals about South American production.

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The assumption has been that Brazil and Argentina will produce big crops but recent issues in Argentina, with too much rain in northern and central areas and too little in the south, has analysts recalculating expectations.

The Buenos Aries Grain Exchange today slightly decreased its estimate of Argentina soybean seeded area to 47.7 million acres, down from 48.4 million in its last estimate, due to dry soils in the south where the seeding window has now expired.

Last year it seeded 49.7 million acres.

Wheat rose for the fourth time in five sessions as the trade readjusts positions for the new year and figures that the price is so low there is little incentive to hold short positions (i.e. betting on lower values)

Dry weather in the U.S. southern Plains provided some support and also it appears that a growing number of analysts think 2017 will see increased inflation, which often supports commodity prices.

Also, big index funds will rebalance their positions next week in an annual undertaking. Analysts expect that means big funds will buy into sectors that fell last year and have the potential for increases this year, such as wheat.

Next week’s USDA monthly report will have the department’s survey on how many acres were seeded to winter wheat.

Crude oil rose as a weekly report showed crude inventories in the U.S. fell. But the gains were tempered as inventories of gasoline and diesel rose. Also, Saudi Arabia said it has cut its daily crude production to the level promised under the OPEC agreement to roll back production.

Lower share prices at U.S. retailers Kohl’s and Macy’s weighed down the Dow and S&P 500 stock indexes. The retailers reported disappointing Christmas season sales.

But strong results at Amazon lifted the Nasdaq to a record high.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 42.87 points, or 0.21 percent, to 19,899.29, the S&P 500 lost 1.75 points, or 0.08 percent, to 2,269 and the Nasdaq Composite added 10.93 points, or 0.2 percent, to 5,487.94.

The TSX moved close to its all time high set in September 2014.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index closed up 69.83 points, or 0.45 percent, at 15,586.58, less than 100 points shy of its peak.

Light crude oil nearby futures in New York were up 50 cents to US$53.76 per barrel.

The Canadian dollar at noon was US75.67 cents, up from 75.23 cents the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was C$1.3216.

Winnipeg ICE Futures Canada dollars per tonne

Canola Mar 2017 503.60 unch 0.00%

Canola May 2017 510.30 +0.20 +0.04%

Canola Jul 2017 514.90 +0.10 +0.02%

Canola Nov 2017 493.90 -0.50 -0.10%

Canola Jan 2018 495.20 -0.60 -0.12%

Milling Wheat Mar 2017 240.00 +2.00 +0.84%

Milling Wheat May 2017 241.00 +1.00 +0.42%

Milling Wheat Jul 2017 241.00 unch 0.00%

Durum Wheat Mar 2017 319.00 unch 0.00%

Durum Wheat May 2017 322.00 unch 0.00%

Durum Wheat Jul 2017 326.00 unch 0.00%

Barley Mar 2017 142.00 unch 0.00%

Barley May 2017 144.00 unch 0.00%

Barley Jul 2017 145.00 unch 0.00%

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

Chicago

Soybeans Jan 2017 1003.50 -2.75 -0.27%

Soybeans Mar 2017 1012.50 -2.75 -0.27%

Soybeans May 2017 1021.00 -2.50 -0.24%

Soybeans Jul 2017 1027.75 -2.25 -0.22%

Soybeans Aug 2017 1025.75 -2.25 -0.22%

Soybeans Sep 2017 1009.50 -2.75 -0.27%

Soybean Meal Jan 2017 314.40 -0.90 -0.29%

Soybean Meal Mar 2017 318.20 -0.90 -0.28%

Soybean Meal May 2017 320.60 -0.90 -0.28%

Soybean Oil Jan 2017 35.00 +0.02 +0.06%

Soybean Oil Mar 2017 35.22 +0.01 +0.03%

Soybean Oil May 2017 35.47 +0.02 +0.06%

Corn Mar 2017 361.25 +1.50 +0.42%

Corn May 2017 367.50 +1.75 +0.48%

Corn Jul 2017 374.25 +2.00 +0.54%

Corn Sep 2017 380.75 +1.75 +0.46%

Corn Dec 2017 388.50 +1.75 +0.45%

Oats Mar 2017 236.50 -1.25 -0.53%

Oats May 2017 236.25 -0.75 -0.32%

Oats Jul 2017 235.25 -1.50 -0.63%

Oats Sep 2017 235.50 unch 0.00%

Oats Dec 2017 236.25 -0.50 -0.21%

Wheat Mar 2017 426.25 +7.75 +1.85%

Wheat May 2017 436.50 +7.25 +1.69%

Wheat Jul 2017 449.25 +7.25 +1.64%

Wheat Sep 2017 460.75 +6.25 +1.38%

Wheat Dec 2017 475.75 +5.00 +1.06%

Minneapolis

Spring Wheat Mar 2017 550.25 +5.75 +1.06%

Spring Wheat May 2017 544.75 +4.25 +0.79%

Spring Wheat Jul 2017 545.75 +2.50 +0.46%

Spring Wheat Sep 2017 550.00 +1.75 +0.32%

Spring Wheat Dec 2017 557.50 +1.00 +0.18%

Kansas City

Hard Red Wheat Mar 2017 434.50 +8.00 +1.88%

Hard Red Wheat May 2017 446.00 +8.00 +1.83%

Hard Red Wheat Jul 2017 457.00 +7.75 +1.73%

Hard Red Wheat Sep 2017 470.50 +7.25 +1.57%

Hard Red Wheat Dec 2017 488.00 +6.75 +1.40%

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

Live Cattle (P) Feb 2017 115.08 -0.59 -0.51%

Live Cattle (P) Apr 2017 114.15 -0.57 -0.50%

Live Cattle (P) Jun 2017 103.95 -0.35 -0.34%

Feeder Cattle (P) Jan 2017 128.25 -0.25 -0.19%

Feeder Cattle (P) Mar 2017 123.75 unch 0.00%

Feeder Cattle (P) Apr 2017 123.62 -0.05 -0.04%

Lean Hogs (P) Feb 2017 64.88 +0.28 +0.43%

Lean Hogs (P) Apr 2017 68.32 +0.34 +0.50%

Lean Hogs (P) May 2017 72.62 +0.17 +0.23%

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