With the AUD back under 70c this morning and some healthy gains in US soybean, Paris Rapeseed and Winnipeg canola futures one remains optimistic about the outlook for local values for both old and new crop canola here come Monday.

The AUD came under pressure from an increasing US dollar again last night. Even the speculative prospect of a 125pt rise in local rates was unable to stifle the decline.
Currently the AUD appears to be de-linking from commodity values, that’s not exactly a bad thing for exporters. Usually high commodity prices will lift the value of the Aussie dollar. To combine a low AUD with higher commodity prices will produce good income for the major exporters in the short term.
The share punters liked BHP’s unification proposal with investors shuffling something like $25bn through the ASX, much said to have been moved as they adjusted investment portfolios in favour of BHP in yesterday’s session. That sounds right, sold my BHP shares 6 months ago.

Wheat futures found support from outside markets, a general rally in commodities saw grains higher across the board overnight. Dry weather across the US and Canada is also getting more attention as we move towards February. Much of the spring wheat belt is looking better than it did prior to the winter. The HRW belt is still very dry with 30 day totals only 20% – 40% of normal across large swaths of Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. In Brazil wet weather is expected across the dry SE over the next week.