By Dave Sims and Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, November 21 – The ICE Futures Canada canola market was slightly stronger on volatile trading Friday – following soybeans higher while also feeling pressure from a strong Canadian dollar as traders positioned themselves before the weekend.
There were no big trends pushing canola one way or the other, meaning canola will likely continue to trade sideways in the near future, said an analyst.
Gains in European rapeseed futures provided some support for
canola.
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ICE canola above unchanged
Glacier FarmMedia – Canola futures on the Intercontinental Exchange showed small gains on Thursday with little support from comparable oils. Chicago…
Farmer selling has been slow, and is not expected to ramp up significantly until the new year, which also underpinned the market.
However, Malaysian palm oil was lower while minimal gains in soyoil helped put a lid on canola’s upside.
The Canadian dollar was higher against its US counterpart, which made canola less attractive on the international market.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were up 11 to 18 cents per bushel on Friday, after trading to both sides of unchanged in earlier activity.
Speculative short-covering, follow-through buying interest on Thursday’s gains, and solid export demand were all supportive for soybeans, according to participants.
A lack of significant farmer selling, and the resulting need for end users to up their bids, contributed to the gains.
However, strength in the US dollar index did put some pressure on values, as the stronger currency cuts into export demand. The record large US production also remained a bearish factor in the background.
SOYOIL futures finished near unchanged on Friday, seeing some consolidation after trading within a wide range during the session.
SOYMEAL futures were up on Friday, boosted by solid end user demand and positioning ahead of the weekend.
CORN futures in Chicago were steady to down one cent per bushel at Friday’s close, retreating from earlier gains.
While good demand from both the export sector and domestic ethanol processors did provide some underlying support, corn ran into resistance and failed to see the same late strength as soybeans.
The large US crop and strong dollar index both weighed on values, according to participants.
WHEAT futures in Chicago were steady to up two cents, seeing some consolidation ahead of the weekend. Minneapolis and Kansas City wheat futures, both ended narrowly mixed with a cent or two of unchanged.
Cold weather conditions across parts of the US Plains were somewhat supportive, as traders raised concerns over the state of the winter wheat crops there. Weather issues in Russia were also helping underpin the futures.
However, the stronger US dollar index and lack of significant export demand did limit the upside potential in wheat.
– Argentina’s 2014/15 wheat crop is forecast at 12 million tonnes, which would be up from the 9.2 million tonnes grown the previous year, according to the country’s agriculture ministry.
Milling wheat, durum, and barley were all untraded.
Settlement prices are in Canadian dollars per metric ton.
