By Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service
Winnipeg, April 14 (CNS Canada) – ICE Futures Canada canola contracts were narrowly mixed at Thursday’s close, after trading within a narrow range throughout the session.
Losses in the Chicago Board of Trade soy complex put some spillover pressure on values throughout the day. However, canola futures failed to rally with soybeans earlier in the week, and were also not a follower going back the other way.
A softer tone in the Canadian dollar, a lack of significant farmer selling, steady end user demand, weather uncertainty in parts of the Prairies, and declining ending stocks projections from Agriculture and Agri Food Canada all underpinned canola as well.
Read Also
North American Grain and Oilseed Review: Canola clings to small upticks
By Glen Hallick, MarketsFarm Glacier Farm Media MarketsFarm – Intercontinental Exchange canola futures closed a pinch higher on Friday, after…
Canola ran into resistance from a chart standpoint, with prices consolidating around the 200-day moving average.
About 25,969 canola contracts were traded on Thursday, which compares with Wednesday when 28,089 contracts changed hands. The May/July spread was a feature, as participants rolled their positions out of the front month.
Milling wheat, durum, and barley futures were all untraded.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were down by six to eight cents per bushel on Thursday, seeing a bit of a correction following Wednesday’s rally as the gains brought in fresh farmer selling.
Large world oilseed supplies and ideas that US soybean acres will likely end up above earlier expectations contributed to the declines.
Solid export demand helped temper the losses, with weekly US soybean sales of nearly 500,000 tonnes coming in above average trade guesses. Soymeal sales were also strong in the weekly United States Department of Agriculture data, but soyoil sales were small at only 2,100 tonnes.
Weather concerns in Argentina remained a supportive influence as well.
SOYOIL futures were down on Thursday, with losses in crude oil and disappointing weekly export sales weighing on prices.
SOYMEAL futures were down on Thursday, following soybeans.
CORN futures in Chicago were steady to up one cent per bushel on Thursday, as good export demand countered the bearish influence of favourable seeding weather.
The USDA reported weekly US corn export sales of 1.1 million tonnes, which was at the top end of trade guesses.
However, corn farmers were taking advantage of recent gains to make some sales. Forecasts calling for good spring seeding weather across much of the Midwest over the next two weeks were also bearish.
WHEAT futures in Chicago were within two cents of unchanged, with the most active front months slightly lower.
Weather forecasts calling for some good rainfall across the winter wheat growing regions of the southern Plains were bearish, as the moisture should boost yield potential in those areas.
Weekly US wheat export sales–of 124,700 tonnes old crop and 211,500 tonnes new crop–showed an improvement from the previous week, but remained disappointing overall.
