By Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, March 13 (CNS Canada) – ICE Futures Canada canola contracts were up sharply on Tuesday, as weakness in the Canadian dollar and gains in Chicago Board of Trade soyoil provided support.
Soyoil was up by about half a cent per pound while the Canadian dollar lost half a cent relative to its United States counterpart. That combination helped crush margins improve by about five dollars on the day even with the futures rising by C$8 to C$9, which implies the futures had more room to the upside.
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A lack of significant farmer selling was also supportive, according to participants. However, large old crop supplies did serve to keep a lid on the upside.
About 25,586 canola contracts traded on Tuesday, which compares with Monday when 13,774 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 15,584 of the contracts traded.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade strengthened on Tuesday, with speculators the noted buyers as nearby technical signals provided support.
Forecasts calling for rain in Argentina tempered the upside to some extent, but the moisture is likely coming too late to improve yields and most estimates out of the country continue to see downward revisions.
Concerns that China may impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. soybeans also kept some caution in the market
CORN finished with small gains, as solid export demand provided support. The USDA reported private export sales of 210,000 tonnes of corn to South Korea this morning.
Declining production estimates out of Argentina were also supportive. However, just as in beans, the precipitation in the forecasts put some pressure on values.
Large U.S. corn supplies also limited the upside potential.
WHEAT futures ended mostly lower, retreating from early gains after running into resistance.
Declining condition ratings provided early support, with the Kansas winter wheat crop now rated 53 percent poor to very poor and only 12 per cent good to excellent by the USDA.
However, conditions showed some improvement on the week in Oklahoma and Texas, and the early bounce higher in wheat proved to be short lived. Large world wheat supplies were also still overhanging the market.
