By Glen Hallick, MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, May 28 (MarketsFarm) – Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) canola futures were mixed on Friday, after prices swung to either side of unchanged.
Part of that vacillation was due to positioning ahead of the United States markets being closed on Monday for Memorial Day, leaving canola largely on its own.
A trader commented Thursday’s spike in canola prices essentially eliminated any technical selling. There were few farmer hedges.
Soybeans and soyoil were down on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), while soymeal had a good increase. Malaysian palm oil was higher, but European rapeseed was steady to lower.
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At mid-afternoon the Canadian dollar was relatively steady, with the loonie at 82.79 U.S. cents compared to Thursday’s close of 82.83.
The Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) reported producer deliveries of canola were up 16.5 per cent at 239,700 tonnes for the week ended May 23. Canola exports of 66,400 tonnes dropped 32 per cent and domestic usage fell 10.2 per cent at 173,000 tonnes.
There were 11,181 contracts traded on Friday, which compares with Thursday when 24,936 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 3,500 contracts traded.
Settlement prices are in Canadian dollars per metric tonne.
Price Change
Canola Jul 890.00 up 3.30
Nov 714.20 dn 2.40
Jan 712.60 dn 2.80
Mar 703.60 dn 2.50
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) were lower on Friday, pulling back after yesterday’s limit up finish.
With the United States markets closed on May 31 for Memorial Day, there was positioning ahead of the long weekend. Trading will resume Monday at 7 pm Central.
Trade expectations ahead of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Fats and Oils report next Tuesday have called for a soybean crush of about 4.66 million tonnes. That would make for a 6.7 per cent drop from the April 2020 soybean crush.
The soybean harvest in Argentina was reported to be 91 per cent complete. The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange (BAGE) upped their call on the country’s 2020/21 soybean harvest by about 1.2 per cent at 43.5 million tonnes.
CORN futures were lower as well on Friday,
Due to the worst drought in Brazil in 91 years, Safras and Mercado slashed its projection of that country’s 2020/21 corn crop by more than 8.5 per cent at 95.2 million tonnes.
The BAGE estimated the corn harvest in Argentina at 30.9 per cent finished.
WHEAT futures were mixed on Friday, with declines in Chicago and Kansas City, while Minneapolis was up.
There were frost warnings for parts of North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota. The seven-day forecast for the U.S. has called for continued dryness across most of the spring wheat growing areas, as well as the white wheat areas of the Pacific Northwest. Meanwhile, rain is forecast for the Southern Plains, with between two and half inches to five inches expected, with the greater amounts in Texas.
The European Union bumped up its 2021/22 wheat production forecast by 1.1 per cent at 126.2 million tonnes. That would make for a 7.7 per cent increase over the previous year’s harvest. Wheat exports were left at 30 million tonnes.
SovEcon trimmed its projection for Russia’s 2021/22 wheat crop by less than one per cent at 80.9 million tonnes. If that holds, it would be a 5.8 per cent drop from the 2020/21 harvest.
The BAGE has forecast Argentina to reap 19 million tonnes of wheat in 2021/22, a record for the country. So far, just over 10 per cent has been planted.
