By Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, Oct. 22 (CNS Canada) – ICE Futures canola contracts were weaker on Monday, as better Prairie weather weighed on values.
Warm and dry conditions over the weekend should have allowed the harvest to advance, with the harvest window expected to remain open in many areas over the next week.
Speculative selling contributed to the declines, as canola was back testing the lower edge of its recent range.
However, good underlying demand from the export sector and a firmer tone in Chicago Board of Trade soybeans provided underlying support.
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About 19,333 canola contracts traded, which compares with Friday when 28,885 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 13,758 of the contracts traded.
SOYBEAN futures posted small gains on Monday, as the market saw a modest correction to start the week following recent losses.
While the slower Midwestern harvest pace was also supportive, farmers should be making good progress over the next week. The United States soybean harvest is thought to be about half done, which compares with the average for this time of year (two-thirds complete).
Weekly U.S. soybean export shipments of just over a million tonnes were behind the week-ago level and total exports to date remain sluggish, with the ongoing trade dispute between the U.S. and China slowing some activity.
CORN futures were steady to higher, with speculative positioning behind much of the buying interest.
Weekly U.S. corn shipments came in at just under a million tonnes, which was off the previous week’s pace but well ahead of last year at this time.
The U.S. corn harvest is thought to be a little bit ahead of normal, as wet field conditions in the U.S. have seen farmers concentrate on harvesting corn over soybeans.
WHEAT futures ended lower, as the markets continued to try and uncover some demand. U.S. wheat faces competition on the global market, with solid Russian exports continuing to undercut U.S. business.
Good winter wheat seeding progress across the U.S. Plains also weighed on values, although crop downgrades out of Australia were a bit supportive.
