By Dave Sims and Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, September 26 – THE ICE Futures Canada canola market posted modest losses on Monday after a choppy trading session. Weakness in vegetable oil and US soybeans pointed the way lower.
A trader in Winnipeg said it’s not clear how much canola China intends to buy from Canada, even with the recent four-year agreement on the amount of foreign materials allowed in imports, which undermined values.
He added Canadian farmers are also selling supplies right now to make room for freshly-harvested canola.
Read Also
North American Grain/Oilseed Review: Canola rebounds, grains retreat
Glacier FarmMedia | MarketsFarm – Canola futures on the Intercontinental Exchange were higher on Wednesday. This was despite the November contract…
“There’s a fair bit of grower selling coming into canola as the harvest has progressed in some areas. Lots of cash canola too as it’s one of the few commodities that will give you a decent return right now,” he said.
The true size of Canada’s canola’s supply is also tough to gauge, he added.
However the Canadian dollar was about a third of a cent lower than its US counterpart which made canola more attractive to foreign buyers.
Wet weather on the Canadian Prairies has created harvest delays as well, which supported the market.
Around 15,261 canola contracts were traded on Monday, which compares with Friday when around 24,536 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for about 5,462 of the contracts traded.
Milling wheat, barley and durum were untraded.
Settlement prices are in Canadian dollars per metric tonne.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were down by three to 10 cents per bushel on Monday, as forecasts calling for improved Midwestern harvest weather weighed on values.
While some areas are dealing with excess moisture following heavy weekend rains, the 10 day outlooks are calling for warmer and drier conditions, which should allow US farmers to make good harvest progress.
Weekly US export inspections of only 383,000 tonnes were well off the previous week’s level, which added to the bearish tone.
However, a separate sale of 240,000 tonnes of US soybeans to ‘unknown destinations’ provided underlying support, according to traders.
SOYOIL futures were down on Monday, despite gains in crude oil.
SOYMEAL futures were down on Monday.
CORN futures in Chicago were down by six to seven cents per bushel on Monday, as the improving US harvest weather also weighed on values.
The US corn harvest is thought to be running slightly behind average, but yield reports are generally beating expectations.
Chart-based selling was a feature as values traded right above nearby support.
WHEAT futures in Chicago were down by five to nine cents per bushel on Monday, with a move below the psychological US$4.00 per bushel mark in the nearby December contract triggering some additional selling.
Large world supplies remained the primary bearish influence in the background.
However, solid weekly export inspections of 875,000 tonnes provided some support. Quality concerns with the Canadian crop were also said to be underpinning the US futures to some extent, especially in Minneapolis.
– The European Union approved export licence for 452,000 tonnes of soft wheat during the week ended September 22.
– Russia is set to start selling wheat to Egypt once again, following news that Egypt would scrap its recently imposed ergot restrictions.
