By Glen Hallick, MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, April 13 (MarketsFarm) – Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) canola futures lost their gains from earlier in the session on Thursday, finishing with small losses.
Traders continuing to exit their short positions provided the upward momentum for canola, but losses in other oilseeds were too much to fend off. European rapeseed, Malaysian palm oil and Chicago soyoil were to the downside. But there was support from upticks in Chicago soybeans and soymeal.
Global crude oil prices were moderately lower today, which added pressure on the vegetable oils. An analyst commented that West Texas Intermediate could reverse course in the near future, rising to test US$85 per barrel.
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Crush margins were relatively steady, remaining wide which underpinned canola values.
The Canadian dollar was stronger at mid-afternoon Thursday, benefitting from a weaker United States dollar. The loonie climbed to 74.96 U.S. cents, compared to Wednesday’s close of 74.37.
There were 52,993 contracts traded on Thursday, which compares with Wednesday when 50,477 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 42,684 contracts traded.
Settlement prices are in Canadian dollars per metric tonne.
Price Change Canola May 770.60 dn 0.40 Jul 741.30 dn 0.80 Nov 702.60 dn 0.60 Jan 704.70 dn 0.60
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) were mixed on Thursday, in a contest between somewhat lackluster export sales and a huge Brazilian crop on one side versus a horrible harvest in Argentina.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued its export sales report for the week ended April 6. The report included 364,500 tonnes of old crop soybeans, which fell within trade expectations. New crop soybeans came to 66,000 tonnes.
As well, soymeal export sales came to 255,200 tonnes of old crop, which was towards the low end of market guesses. New crop came to 37,500 tonnes. Those for soyoil amounted to 400 tonnes of old crop, also on the low end of projections.
The Rosario Grain Exchange lopped off four million tonnes from its call on Argentina’s soybean harvest, now expecting 23 million tonnes due to the country’s severe drought. About a year ago the exchange initially projected the harvest to reap 47 million tonnes.
To the north, CONAB added two million tonnes to its soybean forecast for Brazil, now expecting the harvest to bring in a record 153.6 million tonnes.
WHEAT futures were weaker on Thursday, following a sell-off by the funds.
The USDA reported wheat export sales that consisted of 135,700 tonnes of old crop and 67,800 tonnes of new crop. As with soybeans, the old crop wheat sales were towards the low end of what the market projected.
The weather for the U.S. Southern Plains is to remain hot, dry and windy for the rest of the week, which doesn’t bode well for the region’s struggling winter wheat crops. Parts of the Northern Plains are to receive rain, which could add to a likely delay to spring planting.
FranceAgriMer trimmed its call on its 2022/23 soft wheat exports heading outside to the European Union from 10.45 million tonnes in to 10.40 million. Despite the reduction, those exports would be 18.5 per cent more than those in 2021/22. Meanwhile, non-EU barley exports for 2022/23 were nudged up 30,000 tonnes at 3.03 million.
CORN futures were lower on Thursday, due to pressure from wheat.
Export sales of U.S. corn tallied 527,700 tonnes of old crop, which was slightly above market expectations. There were no new crop sales in the report.
The USDA announced a private sale of corn to China that consisted of 191,000 tonnes of old crop along with 136,000 tonnes of new crop.
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) reported live cattle futures hit all-time highs as the U.S. cattle herd continued to dwindle. The April contract topped 174.325 cents on Wednesday, surpassing the record set in 2014.
Rosario cut three million tonnes from is Argentina corn projection, now calling for a harvest of 32 million tonnes. About a year ago the exchange estimated the crop was to be 55 million tonnes.
CONAB nudged up its outlook on the Brazil corn crop, now projecting a record harvest of 124.9 million tonnes. The second corn crop was forecast to reap 95.6 million tonnes.
