By Terryn Shiells and Dave Sims, Commodity News Service Canada
WINNIPEG, May 5 – The ICE Futures Canada canola market ended slightly higher on Tuesday, following the advances seen in Chicago soybean and soyoil futures.
Slow farmer selling, as they continue to focus on spring field work, also helped to underpin values, analysts said.
Concerns about dryness in some regions causing problems for the upcoming Canadian canola crop were also supportive.
However, sentiment that Monday’s gains were overdone helped to limit the advances.
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The stronger Canadian dollar was also bearish, as it made canola less attractive to crushers and exporters.
Activity was on the quiet side amid positioning ahead of Wednesday morning’s Statistics Canada stocks as of March 31, 2015 report.
About 17,162 contracts traded on Tuesday, which compares with Monday when 11,273 contracts changed hands.
Milling wheat, durum and barley futures were all untraded. Though, the Exchange moved wheat prices lower following Tuesday’s close.
CORN futures on the Chicago Board of Trade rallied late in the day to post moderate gains Tuesday on ideas that futures were oversold.
Futures initially sunk to a six-month-low in response to
Concerns that the spread of avian flu will temper the need for corn as poultry feed, tempered the upside.
SOYBEANS ended five to eight cents per bushel higher, receiving support from the better-than-expected planting progress in corn. One analyst said this could prompt some producers to plant less soybean acres than anticipated.
Reports that China has ramped up pork-processing in the country was supportive.
Still, large global supplies and the ongoing harvest in South America limited the upside.
SOYOIL futures in Chicago ended 42 points higher on the day, underpinned by rumours of fresh off-shore demand, brokers said.
SOYMEAL futures ended higher on strong demand, traders noted.
WHEAT futures in Chicago ended six to seven cents per bushel lower on forecasts calling for beneficial scattered showers and near-normal temperatures in the US Southern Plains.
Although recent US inspection numbers show wheat is moving, exporters are still having trouble finding buyers due to the strength of the US dollar, said a trader.
Investors are waiting to see if participants on the crop tour in Kansas find any evidence of crop diseases there or winterkill farther north, according to a report.
• Export prices for Russian wheat continue to rise, traders say.
• Heavy rains in Romania have brought spring planting down to a crawl, according to weather reports.
ICE Futures Canada settlement prices are in Canadian dollars per metric ton.
