By Dave Sims and Jade Markus, Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, August 10 – THE ICE Futures Canada canola market finished slightly stronger in choppy trading on Wednesday.
Speculative action was a key feature of the day with contracts climbing higher at certain points before declining as traders took profits.
Gains in soy oil and other vegetable oils were supportive for values.
Wet weather across Western Canada has thrown a bit of uncertainty into the market about the actual size of this year’s crop, a Winnipeg-based trader said.
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However, the Canadian dollar was nearly half a cent higher relative to its US counterpart, which made canola less enticing to foreign buyers.
Losses in CBOT soybeans and crude oil were bearish for the market.
Around 18,319 canola contracts were traded on Wednesday, which compares with Tuesday when around 18,372 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for about 8,976 of the contracts traded.
Milling wheat, barley and durum were all untraded.
Settlement prices are in Canadian dollars per metric tonne.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade closed one to six cents per bushel weaker on Wednesday, as rain is expected to fall across the US Midwest.
Storms are expected for the area into the weekend, with several inches forecasted, which is bearish.
The rain will be beneficial for crops, which are entering a key development phase.
Strong demand for US soybeans underpinned the market and limited losses.
Profit-taking added to the declines.
SOYOIL prices closed higher on Wednesday, tracking advances in Malaysian palm oil.
SOYMEAL closed weaker on Wednesday.
CORN futures were mostly unchanged on Wednesday, as traders were reluctant to make any bold moves ahead of data from the United States Department of Agriculture.
Industry estimates showing a slight reduction in the size of Brazil’s production had a bullish effect on prices.
Strong demand for US corn further underpinned the market.
WHEAT closed two to five cents per bushel higher on Wednesday as rains in Europe could hurt the region’s output.
Market watchers say rain could hurt quality and slow harvest in areas including Germany and Poland.
The rains follow the expectation for reduced output from France due to flooding.
Losses in the US dollar against a bundle of currencies added to the advances.
– Market watchers peg this year’s spring wheat production in the US at 547 million bushels.
– France’s wheat production is expected to reach a 30-year-low.
