By Dave Sims and Erin DuBooy, Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, July 7 – THE ICE Futures Canada canola market finished lower Thursday due to heavy speculative selling with some stops hit on the way down.
The US soy complex was also lower which was bearish for canola.
Malaysian palm oil and US crude oil were both weaker which added to the downside.
Uncertainty in global markets dragged on values.
However, the Canadian dollar was weaker relative to its US counterpart which made canola more attractive to international buyers.
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Parts of the Eastern Prairies have some excess moisture which was supportive.
Around 25,587 canola contracts were traded on Thursday, which compares with Wednesday when around 18,182 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for about 570 of the contracts traded.
Milling wheat, barley and durum were all untraded.
Settlement prices are in Canadian dollars per metric tonne.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade dropped 22 to 52 cents per bushel on Thursday, losing ground for the fourth consecutive session as investors continue to abandon bullish positions in the market.
Rainfall across the Midwest is boosting crop prospects and optimism over summer growing conditions, weighing on prices.
It’s estimated that 70 per cent of the domestic soybean crop is in good or excellent health, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
SOYOIL prices closed weaker on Thursday.
SOYMEAL plunged almost 5 per cent on Thursday due to massive flooding in China.
Heavy rains and flooding have killed livestock and submerged some farms, leaving investors concerned there will be a drop in demand for feed.
Soybean meal is used mostly as a high-protein animal feed.
CORN futures closed narrowly mixed on Thursday after Brazil’s crop agency reduced their 2015/16 corn crop estimates from 76.2 million tonnes last month to 69.1 million tonnes this month, increasing optimism for demand.
Generous rains are expected to continue through Friday and in the coming weeks combined with lower temperatures, fuelling speculation that crops will benefit and produce higher yields.
WHEAT was down 1 to 3 cents per bushel on Thursday, with seasonal harvest pressure behind some of the decline.
Improving crop prospects in other wheat growing regions of the world, including Russia and the EU, were also bearish.
The firmer tone in corn provided some support, helping limit the losses.
– Wheat harvest is wrapping up in parts of Kansas, with more than 90 per cent of the crop now in the bin in central, south-central, northeast, east-central and southeast regions of the state, according to the US National Agricultural Statistic Service.
– Torrential rain in France, the EU’s top grain producer, has cut projections for summer wheat yields by 2 million tonnes to sit at 36.5 million tonnes, according to reports.
