By Dave Sims, Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, June 21 (CNS Canada) – Canola contracts on the ICE Futures Canada platform posted modest gains on Thursday, taking advantage of recent weakness in the Canadian currency. The Canadian dollar is near its lowest level, relative to the U.S. dollar since last year.
Demand for canola remains steady while slow farmer selling added to the upside.
Some parts of Saskatchewan and Alberta could use more rain, which lent support to prices.
Many traders have exited the July contract, resulting in lower volumes.
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The dominant November contract received technical support at the C$510 mark.
However, losses in the U.S. soy complex weighed on the market.
About 18,712 canola contracts traded, which compares with Wednesday when 24,122 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 12,702 of the contracts traded.
Settlement prices are in Canadian dollars per metric tonne.
Soybean futures posted gains with speculative buying.
Some reports of flooding in the United States Plains and the Midwest threw a slight weather premium into the market, although the rain in general is good for the plants.
U.S. soybeans are cheaper right now than Brazilian beans, however finding enough buyers to replace China is proving to be difficult for U.S. exporters.
Corn futures finished slightly higher in technical buying Thursday.
Excess dryness is damaging Brazil’s second corn crop and there are widespread expectations its production estimate will be lowered.
Weekly export sales in the U.S. came in at just 166,000 tonnes, which was drastically lower than the 700,000 tonnes analysts were expecting. China sold 1.4 million tonnes of corn at a state auction this week.
Chicago wheat futures ended stronger on Thursday, pushed up by harvest delays in the U.S. Plains. Forecasts indicate Kansas could see additional rains next week too.
There are ideas the market is technically oversold.
Strength in the U.S. dollar was bearish for wheat prices.
