By Dave Sims and Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, Mar 21 – THE ICE Futures Canada canola market finished mixed on Tuesday, as gains in the US soy complex were offset by technical selling.
The Canadian dollar was about a tenth of a cent stronger relative to its US counterpart, which made canola a little less attractive to out-of-country buyers.
Estimates for the soybean crop in Brazil continue to grow, which has been weighing on the market.
The market is likely to stay choppy until the release of the USDA planting intentions report on Friday.
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However, a trader in Winnipeg says canola stocks are dwindling, setting the stage for a possible rebound.
“I still think canola can bounce from here,” he said. “It will be a sturdy market here going into spring because the projections are we’re going to run out of canola.”
Gains in vegetable oil helped limit the losses.
Around 17,313 canola contracts were traded on Tuesday, which
compares with Monday when around 16,813 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for about 7,572 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 up by two to five cents per bushel on Tuesday, recovering from earlier losses as end user bargain hunting came forward at the lows.
Supportive chart signals contributed to the eventual gains, as the May contract moved back above the psychological US$10.00 per bushel mark.
However, South American harvest pressure kept a lid on the upside, especially as production estimates out of the continent continue to rise.
SOYOIL futures were higher on Monday, with spreading against soymeal behind some of the buying interest.
SOYMEAL futures were lower on Tuesday.
CORN futures in Chicago were down by one to two cents per bushel on Tuesday, as large South American crops continued to weigh on values.
Forecasts are now calling for rain in some of the key corn growing regions of Brazil, which should help that country’s second crop as it develops.
Losses in wheat put spillover pressure on corn as well, according to participants.
Solid export demand on the other side remained somewhat supportive.
WHEAT futures in Chicago were down by five to six cents per bushel, as forecasts calling for some much needed rain across the dry southern US Plains weighed on prices for the second straight session.
Chart-based selling contributed to the softer tone, as the technical signals remain relatively bearish.
However, the smaller US acreage base this year provided some underlying support.
