AWB market update

Wheat finished the session off with minor losses in Chicago on Friday night, capping a less than impressive week and moving to almost three-month lows.

While some areas of the US not covered by snow at this point are at risk of winterkill issues, the market did not see this as being supportive enough to encourage buying. But perhaps most importantly, the USDA report, due for release on Tuesday in the US, is not expected to alter the levels of ending stocks by any significant degree. For the time being, it will be hard to see an upside in values as a result of this.

Chicago wheat for March 2014 is 1 cent lower at 651 US cents a bushel.

Corn saw a slight gain by the closing bell during the last session, finishing off a week of disappointing news. In particular, traders are looking to the import situation with China, following shipments being rejected as unapproved GMO strains. With the US dollar moving higher, there is an expectation that corn may start the week off on shaky footing.

Chicago corn for March 2014 is ¾ of a cent higher at 434 ¼ US cents a bushel.

Canola was dramatically lower in Winnipeg on Friday night, initially breaking through the C$480 support level and then suffering a drop after chart-based selling took hold. Continuing to put pressure on values is the very large Canadian canola crop, especially after Statistics Canada estimated it at 18.0 million tonnes on Wednesday, and the weaker Canadian dollar provided some limited support.

Winnipeg canola for January 2014 is $9.10 lower at $471.90 CAD per tonne.

The Australian dollar is currently trading at 0.9126 US cents.