By Dave Sims and Phil Franz-Warkentin
Winnipeg, March 24 – THE ICE Futures Canada canola market finished stronger on Tuesday, after chopping around for much of the day in light-volume trade with some speculative action.
Spreads were relatively quiet as large funds waited on the sidelines; some farmers were trading but just on the rallies, an analyst said.
The US soy complex, Malaysian palm oil and European
rapeseed futures were all lower which pressured values.
The Canadian dollar was slightly stronger against its US counterpart which was bearish for prices as it made canola less attractive on the international market.
Read Also
North American Grain and Oilseed Review: Canola swings upward
By Glen Hallick, MarketsFarm Glacier Farm Media MarketsFarm – Intercontinental Exchange canola futures climbed higher on Tuesday, getting a boost…
As well, expectation of a massive South American soybean harvest also cast resistance over the market.
However, concerns about dry conditions in Western Canada were
supportive for values while commercial demand remained solid.
Around 10,968 canola contracts were traded on Tuesday, which
compares with Monday when around 26,611 contracts changed hands.
Spreading accounted for 7,956 of the contracts traded.
Milling wheat, barley and durum were all untraded.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were down 1 to 2 cents per bushel on Tuesday, seeing a modest profit-taking correction following Monday’s advances.
Ideas that seeding delays in the southern corn-belt would lead to more acres shifting to soybeans instead contributed to the softer tone.
The large South American crop remained a bearish influence in the background as well, as those beans will eventually compete with US stocks in the export market.
SOYOIL futures settled with small losses on Tuesday, following soybeans.
SOYMEAL futures were lower on Tuesday, also following soybeans.
CORN futures in Chicago were up by one to three cents per bushel on Tuesday, hitting their strongest levels in two months as planting delays in the southern US provided support.
The USDA’s weekly report showed that farmers in Texas had only planted 14% of this year’s corn crop, which compares with the 37% average for this time of year. Operations were even farther behind in Louisiana, where only 1% of intended corn acres were seeded to date.
WHEAT futures in Chicago were down by six to 10 cents per bushel on Tuesday, with profit-taking following recent advances behind some of the selling pressure. Minneapolis and Kansas City futures posted similar losses.
Better-than-expected crop ratings in the weekly USDA report were also bearish for wheat, although analysts cautioned that there were still enough areas of concern to provide some underlying support.
Recent strength in the US dollar index was also bearish for wheat, as the firmer currency was seen as highlighting the fact that US wheat remains expensive in the global export market.
– Farmers in Ukraine have planted 600,000 hectares of this year’s spring cereal crop, including wheat, according to reports from the country.
– Bangladesh has reissued a tender to purchase 100,000 tonnes of wheat.
– The Philippines is forecast to import 3.95 million tonnes of wheat in 2014/15 and just over 4.0 million in 2015/16, which would be up by about 13% from 2013/14 imports, according to reports.
