By Phil Franz-Warkentin and Dave Sims, Commodity News Service
Winnipeg, August 14 – ICE Futures Canada canola contracts were weaker on Friday, as losses in CBOT soybeans put some spillover pressure on canola.
The nearby technical bias has also turned bearish for canola, with prices finishing the week near their lowest levels in two months.
Hot weather conditions across Western Canada added to the softer tone in canola, according to participants, as crops are developing quickly and harvest operations start to pick up.
However, the losses were tempered somewhat by the need to ration demand going forward. While harvest pressure may weigh on values in the short term, Canada’s canola supplies are still expected to be on the tight side this year.
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About 18,764 canola contracts were traded on Friday, which compares with Thursday when 18,201 contracts changed hands.
Milling wheat, durum, and barley were all untraded.
SOYBEAN prices finished 10 to 11 cents per bushel lower Friday, feeling pressure from favourable forecasts and uncertain demand for the crop.
Prices may also have seen a slight correction after rising sharply in the previous session, said a trader.
The recent devaluation of the Chinese yuan also weighed on values as there are ideas demand from China could be heading for a slight downturn.
SOYOIL futures in Chicago ended eight to 11 points higher tracking crude oil, with spreading against soymeal a feature.
SOYMEAL futures ended lower following soybeans.
Corn futures on the Chicago Board of Trade inched higher to end the week. Values received a boost from participants in the eastern portion of the US Midwest who aren’t buying the USDA’s bumper crop forecast.
The gains may have even been higher if not for favourable weather forecasts, an analyst said.
China is also unloading reserve supplies of state corn to some countries.
Wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade, posted modest gains to finish the week, seeing some light buying following Thursday’s three percent drop.
There were ideas Thursday’s losses were overdone, said a trader.
The US spring wheat harvest appears to be 48 to 55 percent complete, according to a report.
– Durum wheat production in the U.S. is forecast at 76.8 million bushels, up 2% from July and up 45% from 2014, according to the latest USDA production forecast for 2015.
– The 2015/16 Argentina wheat acreage will decline by 16 percent, according to a report. Tight margins and economic uncertainty are hailed as some of the reasons why.
– Farmers in Kazakhstan have harvested nearly 1.4 million tonnes of grain so far.
Settlement prices are in Canadian dollars per metric tonne.
