By Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, Nov. 20 (CNS Canada) – ICE Futures canola contracts were stronger on Tuesday, as speculative short-covering helped the market recover off of the yearly lows hit on Monday.
Weakness in the Canadian dollar, which was down by two-thirds of a cent relative to its United States counterpart, contributed to the firmer tone in canola.
Advances in the Chicago soy complex also provided some spillover support.
However, sharp losses in the equity markets kept some caution in the commodities, as investors were bailing out of riskier assets.
Read Also
ICE review: Canola posts small losses after choppy day
ICE Futures canola market settled with small losses on Thursday but ended well off its session lows as early fund…
Farmer selling on the bounce also kept a lid on the upside.
U.S. markets will be closed Thursday for Thanksgiving, while the canola market will trade its usual hours, and pre-holiday positioning was a feature.
About 20,121 canola contracts traded, which compares with Monday when 11,424 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 14,866 of the contracts traded.
SOYBEAN futures were stronger on Tuesday, as speculators were back on the buy side after Monday’s losses.
The U.S. soybean harvest was 91 per cent complete as of this past Sunday, according to a report from the United States Department of Agriculture. That was slightly off market expectations and below the 96 per cent average for this time of year.
Fresh export news was also supportive for soybeans, with the USDA announcing a sale of 123,567 tonnes of beans to unknown destinations this morning.
U.S. markets will be closed Thursday for Thanksgiving, and pre-holiday positioning accounted for some of the activity.
Traders were also still keeping an eye on trade news, as the optimism over a possible deal with China comes and goes.
CORN futures traded to both sides of unchanged, settling with small losses in most months.
The U.S. corn harvest was 90 per cent done in the latest weekly report, which was three points behind the average for this time of year.
The USDA announced cancellations of about 200,000 tonnes of previously reported corn sales to unknown destinations.
WHEAT futures were mixed, with spreading between the three U.S. contracts a feature.
U.S. winter wheat seeding was still running behind normal in the latest weekly report, with 93 per cent of intended acres in the ground compared to the average of 97 per cent. Emergence has also been a bit slower than normal.
However, condition ratings did improve on the week though, rising two points in the good-to-excellent category to 56 per cent.
