By Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
April 24, 2015
Winnipeg – ICE Futures Canada canola contracts were slightly higher in most months at Friday’s close after trading within a narrow range for most of the session.
A softer tone in the CBOT soy complex did put some spillover pressure on canola throughout the day. However, canola failed to follow soybeans higher earlier in the week and some rebalancing between the two oilseeds helped underpin the Canadian market on Friday.
The nearby May contract posted the biggest gains as participants were exiting the front month. The July contract was much more subdued, with both buyers and sellers said to be showing some reluctance to push values too far one way or the other.
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Canola futures on the Intercontinental Exchange suffered double-digit losses on Thursday after the release of new data from Statistics Canada….
Thursday’s Statistics Canada planting intentions report was a supportive influence in the background, as the government agency forecast canola seedings at the low end of trade estimates, at 19.4 million acres.
Many industry participants are of the opinion that canola acres need to hit at least 20 million, or supplies could get tight by the end of the next year given the demand projections.
About 18,941 canola contracts were traded on Friday, which compares with Thursday when 18,267 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 14,952 of the contracts traded.
Milling wheat, durum, and barley were all untraded.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were down by eight to nine cents per bushel on Friday, as signs of softening demand weighed on values.
Ideas that a truckers strike in Brazil would slow movement from the country were also waning, as there are large supplies already at the ports and the strike appears to be much less substantial than an earlier labour action in February.
Talk that Chinese demand was backing away, as the country is filled up for the time being, also weighed on prices.
SOYOIL settled lower on Friday.
SOYMEAL futures were lower on Friday, following soybeans.
CORN futures in Chicago were down by five to seven cents per bushel on Friday.
Weather forecasts calling for warm temperatures and little rainfall over the next week were behind some of the selling pressure in corn, as Midwestern farmers are expected to make some good planting progress.
Oversold price sentiment and some end user bargain hunting did help temper the declines, as corn values dipped to their lowest levels in six months.
WHEAT futures in Chicago were down by 11 to 13 cents per bushel, as improving US production prospects and soft export demand weighed on values.
While cold temperatures in the forecasts for some US winter wheat growing regions were a bit supportive, the conditions are generally thought to be improving. Some much needed moisture is expected in Kansas over the next week.
Good planting weather for spring wheat in the northern tier states was also bearish, while a lack of significant export demand weighed on prices as well, as US wheat remains expensive in the global market.
The International Grains Council lowered its estimate on world wheat production by 4 million tonnes, to 705 million tonnes.
Settlement prices are in Canadian dollars per metric ton.
