By Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, Oct. 24 (CNS Canada) – ICE Futures canola contracts were down sharply on Wednesday, finishing just above major chart support as good harvest weather and bearish technical signals weighed on values.
Sunny and dry weather across much of Western Canada should allow farmers to make good harvest progress, although the yields and quality of the later-harvested fields remains to be seen.
Strength in the Canadian dollar, weakness in Chicago Board of Trade soybeans, and a lack of significant end user demand beyond scale-down bargain hunting, added to the softer tone.
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Chart support held to the downside, but the most active January contract was only a dollar off of its lows of the past year at the close.
About 24,340 canola contracts traded, which compares with Tuesday when 23,089 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 14,746 of the contracts traded.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were lower on Wednesday, as soft export demand and the advancing Midwestern harvest weighed on prices.
While the soybean harvest is running behind normal, current weather conditions should be allowing farmers to make good progress.
On the other side, optimism over an upcoming meeting between United States and Chinese leaders was somewhat supportive, although there were still no signs of any improvement on the trade front.
CORN futures held rangebound, although the bias was lower as seasonal harvest pressure weighed on the market.
However, forecasts calling for wetter weather in some areas over the next week could cause some delays.
Good demand from the ethanol sector also helped keep corn in a narrow range, with weekly production of the renewable fuel coming in at just over a million barrels per day.
WHEAT futures were all lower as speculative selling built on itself throughout the session.
Strength in the U.S. dollar index provided the catalyst for the losses in wheat, as the rising currency makes U.S. wheat exports more expensive for global buyers.
Demand for U.S. wheat remains soft, with cheaper Black Sea origin wheat continuing to offer stiff competition.
