By Dave Sims and Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, December 22 – THE ICE Futures Canada canola market posted steep losses Tuesday, as large funds liquidated long positions ahead of the Christmas break.
Malaysian palm oil and the CBOT soy complex were also lower which helped undermine the market.
The Canadian dollar was higher relative to its US counterpart which typically makes canola less attractive to foreign buyers. Meanwhile, crude oil was weaker which also dragged on values.
Some profit-taking and a reluctance to buy ahead of the holidays weighed on prices.
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However, slow farmer selling was supportive while Malaysian palm oil was stronger which limited the losses.
Crush margins were also attractive.
Around 26,945 canola contracts were traded on Tuesday, which
compares with Monday when around 34,364 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for about 16,220 of the contracts traded.
Milling wheat, barley and durum were all untraded.
Settlement prices are in Canadian dollars per metric ton.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were down by four to seven cents per bushel on Tuesday, retreating from earlier advances as expectations for increased export competition out of Argentina remained bearish overall.
While reports of poor weather in parts of Brazil did provide some support, forecasts are calling for improving conditions in January.
Year-end position evening was a feature, accounting for some choppy activity throughout the day.
SOYOIL settled lower on Tuesday.
SOYMEAL futures were down on Tuesday, following soybeans.
CORN futures in Chicago were down by 4 to 6 cents per bushel on Tuesday, as the expectations for increased exports out of Argentina also weighed on prices.
The devaluation of the South American country’s currency is expected to lead to increased corn acres, as farmers are still seeing good prices in the local currency.
Chart-based selling added to the softer tone, although support was holding to the downside. Weakness in the US dollar index and gains in crude oil were also supportive.
WHEAT futures in Chicago were down by six to seven cents per bushel on Tuesday, as poor export demand weighed on prices.
US wheat remains uncompetitive in the global market, keeping prices trending lower in an effort to uncover some fresh export demand.
Relatively favourable conditions for the US winter wheat crop also weighed on values. However, concerns in other parts of the world did provide some support – with a lack of snow cover in Europe and Ukraine raising the possibility of winterkill in some areas.
– Azerbaijan has imported 1.162 tonnes of wheat during the ten-month January to October 2015 period. The imports were up by 26.8 per cent compared to the same period the previous year, according to the country’s State Statistical Committee.
