By Dave Sims and Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, March 17 – THE ICE Futures Canada canola market finished mostly weaker Thursday due to action in the Canadian currency.
The Canadian dollar was up three quarters of a cent relative to its US counterpart which made canola less attractive to buyers in other countries and pressured the front-month contracts.
There is speculation demand could be softer in the near future as stricter Chinese dockage allowances come into effect on canola imports.
The large South American soybean crop was bearish for canola.
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However, Malaysian palm oil hit contract highs while other vegetable oils were also stronger, lending support to canola’s more deferred values.
Crude oil, Chicago soybeans and many global markets were also higher which buoyed some of the more-deferred values.
Commercial demand was supportive.
Around 33,726 canola contracts were traded on Thursday, which compares with Wednesday when around 19,749 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for about 20,564 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 were up by three to five cents per bushel on Thursday, hitting their best levels in three months as weakness in the US dollar provided some support.
Ideas that improving weather conditions across the US grain belt would see more acreage shift into corn and out of beans, as corn is seeded earlier, added to the firmer tone, according to participants.
However, the advancing South American harvest and increasing competition on the export front did limit the upside.
SOYOIL futures were stronger on Thursday, hitting their highest levels in eight months as gains in crude oil and the weaker US dollar provided support.
SOYMEAL futures were lower on Thursday, as adjustments to the soyoil/soymeal spreads weighed on values.
CORN futures in Chicago were narrowly mixed on Thursday, holding near unchanged for the most part.
Forecasts are calling for drier conditions across the southern US corn growing regions over the next few weeks, which should allow farmers to make good seeding progress.
However, gains in crude oil and the weaker US dollar index were supportive on the other side.
WHEAT futures in Chicago were down by eight to nine cents per bushel on Thursday, as improving US winter wheat conditions, bearish technical signals, and poor export demand weighed on prices.
While the US continues to miss out on export opportunities, the weakness in the US dollar index could be making US wheat a bit more attractive to international buyers.
– The fact that US wheat remains expensive on the global stage was further highlighted by news that US buyers had purchased another 24,000 tonne cargo of wheat from Argentina destined for the feed market.
– Egypt bought 240,000 tonnes of wheat from France, Romania, and Ukraine in its latest tender.
– Government officials in India say they won’t need to import wheat in the upcoming marketing year, with domestic production still expected to be enough to meet demand despite weather problems. However, many industry participants remain of the opinion that India will need to bring in more wheat.
