By Dave Sims and Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, June 20 – THE ICE Futures Canada canola market suffered steep losses Monday, as the front-month contracts sunk below major support levels which triggered additional selling.
The Canadian dollar was stronger relative to its US counterpart which made canola less attractive to international buyers.
US soy and the vegetable oil market were both weaker which weighed down prices.
The July/November spread was a feature of the day’s activity as traders rolled out of the front-month contract and staked new positions.
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However, crude oil was higher on the day which limited the losses.
Excess rain in low-lying parts of Western Canada is becoming an issue for some crops, which was supportive for values.
Around 34,174 canola contracts were traded on day, which compares with Friday when around 28,369 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for about 20,590 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 were down by 4 to 16 cents per bushel on Monday, as good US crop conditions triggered a round of fund long liquidation.
Some of the driest areas of the Midwest are forecast to see rain over the next week, which was seen alleviating some of the weather concerns that have built up in the market recently.
Uncertainty over the looming vote in Britain on leaving the European Union (Brexit) found its way into the grains and oilseeds as well, keeping some caution in the market ahead of Thursday’s vote.
SOYOIL and SOYMEAL futures were down on Monday, tracking soybeans.
CORN futures in Chicago were down by five to 16 cents per bushel on Monday, with the good US crop weather behind much of the selling pressure.
Speculators liquidating some of the large long positions that had built up in corn added to the softer tone.
Expectations for increased South American plantings going forward were also bearish.
However, the most recent crops out of Argentina and Brazil were hampered by poor weather, and the nearby shortfalls did remain somewhat supportive.
WHEAT futures in Chicago were down by three to eight cents per bushel on Monday, with the advancing US winter wheat harvest and better-than-expected yield reports weighing on values.
However, heavy rains caused harvest delays in some parts of Kansas over the weekend, which helped limit the losses.
Weather-related production concerns in some other wheat growing regions of the world, including Europe and the Black Sea region, also helped temper the declines.
